London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Homes for Ukraine: Robert Jenrick takes in Ukrainian refugee family

Homes for Ukraine: Robert Jenrick takes in Ukrainian refugee family

A former cabinet minister has taken in a refugee family under a government scheme to help those fleeing Ukraine.

Robert Jenrick, the MP for Newark, and his family have welcomed Maria, 40, Christina, 11, and Boden, 15, into their Nottinghamshire home.

He is thought to be the first MP to take in refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Mr Jenrick said both families had found it "very emotional" when they finally met in person at Stansted.

"I think the family we are sponsoring were happy to be in a place of safety," he told the BBC. "Like most Ukrainians who come under the scheme they are leaving behind husbands, fathers, relatives and friends so there are mixed emotions."

The former communities secretary said his family had discussed doing something to help after being moved by the news from Ukraine, and had been put in touch with the family through another Ukrainian family who was staying with friends.

"The process was relatively slow to begin with but well worth the wait from our perspective," he said, adding that Maria and her family had been "absolutely lovely".

As of Wednesday 25,100 visas have been issued under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme - which allows families in the UK to sponsor refugees to come and live with them - from 55,600 applications.

Since it began the scheme has faced criticism for being slow - and Home Secretary Priti Patel has previously apologised for the delays in granting visas.

Several MPs and government ministers have previously said they would be open to hosting a Ukrainian refugee. Environment minister Victoria Prentis was the first to welcome one, according to the Telegraph, although Vika came to the UK via an existing scheme, not Homes for Ukraine.

Mr Jenrick said that he was hoping to arrange places at school for the two Ukrainian children now under their roof in the coming weeks.

While he said he would encourage anyone who was lucky enough to be in the position to host a refugee to do so, he said that it was a commitment which "should be entered in to seriously".

"But I think it is going to be a very rewarding experience for my family," he said, adding that it had made them grateful for the life they have in the UK.

Mr Jenrick told the Daily Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast - which first reported the story - that the process had been "overly bureaucratic" and red tape had "tested the patience" of sponsors and the families applying for the scheme.

In his experience, he said it took around three weeks to get the three visas needed.

"There were simple things that we could and should have done from the outset, like having the form in Ukrainian, for example," he told the Telegraph, adding he was not sure it was necessary for security checks to be done on minors who were "extremely unlikely to be a threat to this country".

But Mr Jenrick said it had not been too difficult to find a family wanting to come to the UK.

'Little less selfish'


It has meant a busier house with the Ukrainians joining Mr Jenrick, his wife, their three children and two dogs in the family home.

But he told the Telegraph's Christopher Hope the experience had been humbling for him and his family, and said they would be "a little less selfish" for the experience.

Maria and her children had been through "harrowing" experiences in Ukraine, he said, and had queued for seven hours at the Polish border on their way to the UK.

"It does feel very rewarding," he said. "It's a very tangible way to reach out and help another family."

He added that he was looking forward to spending the Easter weekend with his "new extended family".

Asked if he had received the £350-a-month payment being offered to hosts as part of the scheme Mr Jenrick said that either they would return the money or it would be given to the Ukrainian family.

There are two schemes for people in the UK to welcome refugees: the family scheme, for Ukrainians with a family member in the UK; and Homes for Ukraine, which lets people in the UK host Ukrainians who do not have family ties here.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×