LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would gain from accepting refugees and that he expects hundreds of thousands of visas to be granted to people fleeing Ukraine amid criticism of his government for keeping strict entry requirements.
“The numbers are almost a thousand… and they will rise very sharply… We expect those numbers to rise to in the region of the hundreds of thousands,” Johnson told lawmakers, referring to the number of visas granted to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of the country.
“We understand how much refugees have to give to this country and we understand how much this country has to gain from welcoming refugees, and we will be generous and we are being generous.”
(Reporting by William James, writing by Alistair Smout, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
