London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme risks operating as ‘Tinder for sex traffickers’, say charities

UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme risks operating as ‘Tinder for sex traffickers’, say charities

Michael Gove warned that his housing project has insufficient safeguards for those seeking sanctuary

Michael Gove’s Homes for Ukraine scheme risks operating as “Tinder for sex traffickers” according to experts. The warning comes as evidence emerges that UK-based criminals are targeting women and children fleeing the war.

A letter from 16 refugee and anti-trafficking organisations to communities secretary Gove warns that the scheme in its present form is potentially dangerous for refugees who have fled Ukraine.

It says the initiative, which allows would-be hosts to be matched with Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in the UK, effectively mimics the dating app Tinder’s signature “swipe left, swipe right” approach to rejecting or selecting a partner, and has insufficient safeguards.

Initial evidence from the letter’s signatories, which include Refugee Action, Refugee Council and the Helen Bamber Foundation, said traffickers had already made apparent attempts to target Ukrainian women and children, as had slum landlords.

Louise Calvey, head of safeguarding at charity Refugee Action, said she was aware of a UK resident wanting to offer accommodation only to an orphan, while another had asked to house a single Ukrainian woman because they wanted help with their childcare. Launched just over a week ago, Gove’s scheme prompted a huge response, with about 150,000 offers of support.

However the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has not said how many people have arrived in the UK under the scheme, saying it would “set out full details of the [number of] visas granted” this week.

Ukrainian refugees in the railway station in Przemysl, south-eastern Poland.


Some families who have applied to be sponsors have complained that the system is too complicated. Calvey said: “We are concerned that issues with the scheme means that it risks being a Tinder for sex traffickers. We are already aware of people with illegal motives who are advertising on social media.”

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “We’ve had concerns from people in the Ukrainian community about dubious Facebook pages and other websites offering a matching service that looks like it might be run by people with an ulterior motive like trafficking, exploitation or unscrupulous landlords.”

The letter, sent to Gove on Saturday, says: “By adopting a hands-off approach to matching, there is a high risk that traffickers, criminals and unscrupulous landlords set up matching sites and Facebook pages to prey upon the vulnerable.”

Calvey also called for police to be brought in to regulate the scheme and target individuals and organised crime gangs seeking to prey on Ukrainian refugees.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), which investigates trafficking, confirmed that it had not been asked by the government to regulate the scheme. Although Gove said initially that hosts would undergo “very light touch” criminal records checks, in fact all will be required to have undergone Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Yegor Lanovenko, who runs an organisation called Opora, which has drawn up a database for Ukrainians to view sponsors and has recorded 400,000 profile views in a week, said that criminals had also targeted UK residents who wanted to offer Ukrainians a home.

“Everyone just went on Facebook, and posted their passports, houses, addresses with the obvious risks that creates and we’ve seen so many people saying: ‘I just posted on Facebook, now I’ve been scammed five times.’ Who thought that that was going to be a good idea?,” added Lanovenko

Already reports from Poland indicate that women and child refugees who have just fled Ukraine are being targeted by pimps and sex traffickers operating alone and in gangs, according to charities working on the border.

The letter from the 16 organisations “with substantive experience leading resettlement programmes, delivering hosting schemes, supporting refugees and in anti-trafficking” also warns that the scheme is storing up a housing crisis for the autumn: “We are concerned that this scheme, as currently structured, bakes in a refugee housing and support crisis for the autumn. With hosts only having a duty to accommodate refugees for six months, a heavy burden will be placed on local authorities to pick up the pieces if new housing is required.”

The organisations, which also include the No Accommodation Network and Ecpat UK, say that 11,000 Afghans are stranded in hotels months after the fall of Kabul.

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “No visa is issued by the Home Office until checks have been completed on the Ukrainian applicant as well as on every adult in a sponsor’s household. Local authorities will then run DBS checks on sponsors, with enhanced DBS with barred list checks for those housing families with children or vulnerable adults.

“Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, Ukrainians will be guaranteed free access to NHS healthcare, including mental health care. They will also be able to work and receive benefits. The Government has also ensured that local authorities have appropriate levels of funding to support new arrivals.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×