Britain’s flagship scheme for matching hosts with refugees is another of the government’s inflated promises – and equally empty
A policy of indifference to the plight of Ukrainian refugees would be morally repugnant, but honest. Millions fleeing the criminal butchery of Vladimir Putin’s army would be told that they were not welcome in Britain and should seek sanctuary elsewhere.
That is not the UK government line. Instead, something more insidious has taken shape – a device for mixing the desperation of displaced people with hospitality offered by the British public, and feeding both into a bureaucratic mangle so every drop of uncertainty and dread can be wrung out. That is the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist
