Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster, welcomed the announcement by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson MP, and Home Secretary, Priti Patel MP, for further humanitarian support for Ukraine.
The announcement saw the creation of a family scheme so Ukrainians in the UK can bring their wider family here, a new route for Ukrainians with no close family in the UK and up to £220 million of emergency & humanitarian aid.
In the House of Commons Chamber, Nickie made the case to go further, and pass every single economic and diplomatic sanction at the Russian regime and send a very clear message to Putin.
In the Chamber, Nickie said,
"I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. It is clear that this is not a business-as-usual immigration exercise or mass economic migration; this is women, children and elderly people fleeing for their lives, and not knowing if they will see their fathers, sons, brothers or husbands ever again.
"I welcome the compassionate set of measures that my right hon. Friend has announced today. Does she agree that as well as providing safe haven for refugees fleeing the conflict, it is equally important that we throw every single economic and diplomatic sanction at the Russian regime and send the very clear message to Putin that he must withdraw his troops and peace must be restored in Ukraine?"
Home Secretary, Priti Patel MP, replied,
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is not a moment for making flippant remarks or anything of that nature, which has obviously taken place in the House in some quarters today. This is a collective effort. Putin must fail. There is no equivocation here, and no ambiguity whatsoever.
"My hon. Friend speaks with great passion, and she is absolutely right about the implications and consequences. None of us can fail to be moved not just by watching what we see on our screens, but by some of the conversations—I have had some very harrowing conversations with my counterparts—that will concentrate people’s minds as well as some of the wider implications we are seeing.
"We need Putin to fail. We have to be united. We have to apply every single economic, diplomatic and military measure, in a consistent and united way."
