Motion for new Palestinian visa scheme tabled in UK parliament

Independent MP Ayoub Khan has tabled a motion in parliament urging the British government to "urgently establish" a visa scheme for Palestinians with family ties in Britain.

The move comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Wednesday that the government would seek to prevent Palestinian refugees from living in the UK using a refugee scheme established for Ukranians.

"Recognising the humanitarian crisis continuing to be faced by many Palestinians," Khan's motion reads, "it is imperative that the UK underscores its commitment to humanitarian aid and support for those affected by conflict by facilitating their ability to reunite with families already residing in Britain."

Starmer insisted in parliament that the Home Office will shut a "legal loophole" that allowed a Palestinian refugee family from Gaza to stay in the UK.

This came after it emerged that a judge ruled six Palestinians from Gaza - a mother, a father and four children - could remain in Britain using the Ukraine Family Scheme, a visa programme originally established for Ukranian refugees fleeing the war following Russia's invasion. 

The opposition Conservative Party slammed the decision, with party leader Kemi Badenoch declaring in parliament on Wednesday that it "cannot be allowed to stand".

Starmer replied: "I do not agree with the decision. She is right, it is the wrong decision."

He added that "the home secretary has already got her team working on closing the loophole. We don't need to wait for that. We're getting on with that because we're taking control."

The Home Office warned that the legal decision would "open the floodgates for all those in conflict zones with family in the UK" to come to Britian.

'Unjust and arbritary barriers'

The Home Office refused an initial application by the Palestinian family in May last year, but in September an immigration tribunal ruled in their favour.

A spokesperson from the Gaza Families Reunited Campaign, a grassroots collective, said: "We are relieved that this family has won their legal case and will hopefully be reunited soon. However, their struggle highlights the unjust and arbitrary barriers preventing Palestinians in Gaza from finding safety with their loved ones in the UK.

"We are dismayed by the Government's stated focus on 'closing the loophole' that enabled this particular family to flee the bloodshed, rather than providing Palestinians in Gaza with a practical means of reuniting with their loved ones in the UK."

'What’s good for one group of persecuted people should be good for everyone. The same legal principles should apply whether these people are Ukrainian or Palestinian.'

 - Ayoub Khan MP

Ayoub Khan MP told MEE that the government's move is "disgraceful".

"I wholeheartedly refute the notion from the Home Office that such a scheme will open the floodgates," he said.

"Very few Palestinians will ever voluntarily leave their home due to the spiritual and sentimental attachment they have to the land. The vast majority would rather return to rubble and rebuild - even when the conditions outside are far superior to those inside."

However, Khan added: "For the minority that do need to leave - whether it’s because of the need for urgent medical treatment or to be reunited with family in Britain - what’s good for one group of persecuted people should be good for everyone.

"The same legal principles should apply whether these people are Ukrainian or Palestinian.

"In Britain we have a proud history of being a country of sanctuary for those fleeing persecution. This is once again the Labour Party appeasing the far right under threat from Reform."

Rupert Lowe, a Reform UK MP, posted online that the judge's decision was "deranged insanity" and called for the sacking of immigration judges who are "found to be actively working against the interests of the British people, and in favour of their own political desires.

"The system should work for Britain, not Gaza," he added.