A FORMER Tory MP has been appointed as the Minister for Refugees, as the UK Government faces severe criticism over its response to those fleeing Ukraine.
Just a few hundred visas have been approved for Ukrainian refugees coming to join family members already in the UK, despite the UN saying more than two million people have fled the violence.
There have also been reports of refugees arriving at Calais, only to be redirected to Paris or Brussels to get the right paperwork in place.
On Tuesday night, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said refugees will be able to apply for UK visas at another processing centre being set up in Lille - as her government’s response was branded “cruel and chaotic”.
Harrington, a former businessman who stood down as a MP at the 2019 general election, was also brought in as the Government sought to appear on top of the situation.
He will be made a life peer, sitting in the House of Lords, with the title "Minister for Refugees".
Harrington served as the Conservative MP for Watford from 2010-2019 before choosing to step down.
He had been one of the Tory MPs to lose the whip over Brexit issues when Boris Johnson first came to power, but it was later restored to him and nine of his colleagues.
Prior to Johnson’s leadership election, Harrington had served as a business minister under Theresa May. Before that the MP also had experience as a minister within the Department for Work and Pensions.
READ MORE: Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky asks UK Parliament to step up Russian sanctions
Harrington is a long-served Tory member. While at Oxford, Harrington served on the board of the Federation of Conservative Students and was also on the party’s National Union Executive. Later in life, Harrington served in the roles of Conservative treasurer and vice chairman.
Ex Tory MP Richard Harrington appointed Minister for Refugees. And given peerage
— Paul Johnson (@paul__johnson) March 8, 2022
This was him in 2016 - via Watford Observer pic.twitter.com/NWQ8kwq85b
The 64-year-old was chairman of the executive board of the Conservative Friends of Israel.
Harrington’s new ministerial role currently has no associated responsibilities on the Government website. As part of the new job, he will be working between the Levelling Up Department and the Home Office.
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