Boris Johnson rejects Europe’s open approach to Ukrainian refugees

One of the most extraordinary (and moving) videos to have emerged since the invasion of Ukraine shows scenes at Berlin Central Station where refugees are paired upon arrival with locals offering accommodation. An unprecedented crisis has been met with an unprecedented public response – some 350,000 beds have been offered in Germany now. Over a million in Poland. People’s generosity has risen to the challenge – without government getting in the way to slow things down. Could it happen here?

Michael Gove is set to launch a British equivalent – but with a difference. Ukrainians have been given free movement throughout the European Union, so no one can get between families and willing hosts. But in the UK system a Brit will have to register as a sponsor – and will have to be vetted.