We risk being the only nation that has abandoned Ukrainian refugees

ALMOST exactly a month ago, our government launched a sponsorship scheme to allow Ukrainian refugees to enter the UK.

The war had been raging for three weeks. Our European allies had opened their doors to them refugees.

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Time was of the essence. These were mostly women and children fleeing a life-threatening conflict zone.

How many Ukrainians have been allowed into the country since then? Come on, guess what?

Remember that Germany took in 316,000 refugees. About 35,000 Ukrainians have moved to tiny Belgium.

Poland has opened its doors to more than 2.6 million.

Even inhospitable France has taken in nearly 40,000. Cash-poor and distant Spain? More than 110,000.

And our character? Great 12,000. It’s a bit shameful, don’t you think?

Because the Ukrainians don’t want to come here? No, they exist at least 40,000 visas pending. But the refugees are still not arriving.

In all other respects the UK’s support for Ukraine was steadfast, generous and admirable.

We’ve been at the forefront of shipping military equipment – along with experts to train Ukrainian soldiers on the new high-tech weapons we’ve supplied them.

The Ukrainians are very grateful for that. Our Prime Minister Boris Johnsonhas been dubbed the “most hostile” of European leaders by Putin’s gangster henchmen in the Kremlin.

It’s a badge Johnson should of course wear with pride.

Meanwhile, France’s President Emmanuel Macron made increasingly useless phone calls to the Russky dictator.

And Germany got cold feet for allowing as much as a spud gun across its borders into Ukraine.

But this is an area where we have completely failed the people of Ukraine.

These are usually not long-term refugees. They are not the economic migrants that appear in boats on our shores.

It is mostly women and children who have left their husbands to fight at home – where they will return when Putin is finally defeated.

You should be welcome here.

But the problem with this is that we still require that every refugee should have a visa.

This means entire families cannot come to the UK until each member has completed a horrifically complicated visa form. And these visas take three weeks to process. In some cases, that’s the difference between life and death.

Other European countries have abolished the visa requirement. Surely we should do the same now.

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There is also the usual Council bureaucracy about where these refugees should be housed. The usual pencil-necked Jobsworths with their clipboards.

Don’t they realize it’s an emergency?

There is no real excuse for this mess.

We need to lift the restrictions and let more people in quickly.

Or we will be known as the country that failed to open its doors in Europe alone.

Oh – and while we’re on the subject, what should we do with Ryanair?

The Irish airline charged a Ukrainian refugee family 60 euros extra for a boarding pass because their computer kept crashing and the family couldn’t print a card before getting to the airport in Poland.

The family couldn’t afford that extra money, so they lost their flight.

If you’re traveling in the summer, make sure it’s not with Ryanair. Hit her where it hurts.

Eagle farce

ANGUS MacNEIL is an MP for the Scottish National Party. He’s also a part-time farmer – and he’s called for the culling of the beautiful white-tailed eagles that have been reintroduced to the north of Scotland.

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He says they eat local lamb. Wildlife Activist Chris Packham rightly told him to shut up.

The level of subsidies we pay farmers like MacNeil is obscene. While endangered birds of prey bring in millions of pounds in tourist money.

We need a lot more rewilding in this country – and we should pay a lot less attention to the farmers’ cries of outrage.

Shame on Schnabel Leake

WHAT is wrong with our judges? Has anyone been walking around ripping out their spikes?

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Judge Stephen Leake had before him a bunch of gossipy, self-righteous, unwashed, middle-class Insulate Britain protesters.

People called things like “Biff”.

They were stuck to stuff as usual. Making ordinary people’s lives miserable.

Among other things, they stopped an ambulance on its way to the hospital. Oh, and they had smashed walls with graffiti.

What did Leake make of them? He said they “inspired” him.

You’re dripping, Leake. What message does that send to all the other hypocritical suckers?

I just hope that if you’re ever in an ambulance – perhaps on the way to get a new spine fitted – a bunch of hypocrites “inspired” by your comments will be glued to the street in front of you.

HERO of the week is Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party.

He seems to be the only Labor politician who can tell you exactly what a woman is.

Yes, I know the rest of us don’t have much of a problem with that. But Labor has a problem or two with this issue.

Anas entered the big transgender debate. He told Nick Ferrari: “You can’t argue with biology. Biology is clear.”

All right, buddy. Talk to Keir Starmer now, will you?

Maybe show him some pictures. . .

FOOTIE BOSS IS OFFSIDE

THE boss of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels, has issued one of those very familiar apologies.

His side had just been beaten by England by five points and there was a flurry of goals in the second half. Shiels explained that he thought his girls cashed in so quickly because they were upset — and “more emotional than guys.”

Oh man. I don’t know how fat you have to be not to know that this will get you into hot water. So he apologized.

Think of Kenny – there are certain things you just can’t say. No matter how true you think it is.

No matter how true it actually is.

Travel ban is so la la

THEY are nice people, America’s liberals, aren’t they? Full of tolerance for the opinions of others.

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And not remotely obsessive.

Los Angeles County in the US, a very liberal agency, has banned its employees from making official, taxpayer-funded visits to Florida and Texas.

Why? Because these states have laws that Los Angeles doesn’t like.

For example, rules limiting what can be taught in sex education classes. And laws restricting abortions.

Oklahoma — alongside Texas — is about to pass similar legislation. Alabama and Mississippi won’t be far behind.

Soon these LA airheads will not be allowed to travel anywhere outside of their own deranged state.

MUST Boris Johnson resigns over so-called partygate?

Probably. You are not destined to break the law if you are PM. Especially if it’s a law of your own making. And hate everyone.

But Partygate bores me so much I don’t really care, to tell you the truth.

Boris misled Parliament and attended a party when he shouldn’t have.

In doing so, he lost a huge lead over Labour.

Johnson’s punishment will come in next month’s municipal election.

Right now I don’t think people care much about it.