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Sinead Butler
Mar 14, 2022
Michael Gove mistakenly says 300,000 visas given to Ukrainians
Sky News
Michael Gove has mistakenly overestimated the UK government's generosity after claiming 300,000 visas had been issued to Ukrainian refugees - when in reality it's a few zeros less at 3,000.
Appearing on Sophie Ridge on Sunday, the levelling up minister made the blunder when discussing how many visas had been given to Ukrainians fleeing their homes amid the Russian invasion.
"Yes, we’ve had more than 300,000 visas that have been issued," he said.
“And of course, it’s important to recognise that from Tuesday – I’m talking about the families – from Tuesday, it will be the case that the majority of people will no longer need to apply for visas at these application centres, we’ll accept Ukrainian passports, people will be able to come into this country.
“And as well as the number of people who are coming in through the family scheme, which has rapidly expanded, as you mentioned right at the beginning of the programme, there’s a new Homes For Ukrainians scheme, which also has no cap to the number of people who can come here.”
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Picking up on the large figure, Ridge challenged Gove and asked: “So just to clarify, 300,000 visas, that’s up from 1,305 on Thursday, is that correct?”
Gove then corrected himself and replied: “3,000, more than 3,000 visas, my apologies.”
The presenter continued: “More than 3,000, right. I was going to say, that’s a very fast escalation otherwise.”
“Yes,” he confirmed before taking a nervous sip of his water.
The UK has issued more than 3,000 visas to Ukrainian refugees, says Levelling Up Secretary @michaelgove.\n\nHe originally tells #Ridge that 300,000 had been issued, but then corrects himself.\n\nhttps://trib.al/R9KYc4B\u00a0\n\n Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTubepic.twitter.com/Uot0gk9aRC— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@Sophy Ridge on Sunday) 1647161302
Viewers also picked up on the gaffe and quickly shared their reactions on Twitter about the mistakenly inflated figure.
While others also questioned if Gove would receive similar flak as Labour former shadow home secretary Dianne Abbott did when she had a similar numbers blunder on the topic of police funding during an LBC interview back in 2017.
\u201cMore then 300,000 visas have been issued\u201d @michaelgove proudly tells @RidgeOnSunday. Asked to clarify - it turns out to be 3,000— Peter Stefanovic (@Peter Stefanovic) 1647160866
BREAKING: Michael Gove says 300,000 visas have been given out to Ukrainians. This slight inaccuracy was only out by a factor of 100. I'm sure everybody who made fun of Diane Abbott for fudging her figures is now going to make fun of Gove for the next 10 years too x— Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@Laura Kuenssberg Translator) 1647187599
This won\u2019t become a famous gaffe like Diane Abbott\u2019s numbers mistake though will it? The mind boggles as to why\u2026https://twitter.com/peterstefanovi2/status/1502927723383164931\u00a0\u2026— jack rem x (@jack rem x) 1647168228
But is it even 3k? How can we know what is true, frankly?https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1502929203511111682\u00a0\u2026— Jessica Simor QC (@Jessica Simor QC) 1647171750
Imagine Diane Abbott had said this episode #547https://twitter.com/haggis_uk/status/1502929203511111682\u00a0\u2026— Justin (@Justin) 1647178328
What a rookie mistake, when he could just have said "innumerable."https://twitter.com/PeterStefanovi2/status/1502927723383164931\u00a0\u2026— Joanne Harris (@Joanne Harris) 1647191596
Excellent news - according to government minister Michael Gove the UK has issued 300,000 visas to Ukrainian refugees\u2026\nUntil he\u2019s asked to confirm that number and it turns out it\u2019s 3000 visas; 0.01% of what he\u2019d just said.pic.twitter.com/mD5UjphVL7— Larry the Cat (@Larry the Cat) 1647167144
What's a factor of 100 between friends?https://twitter.com/peterstefanovi2/status/1502927723383164931\u00a0\u2026— Edwin Hayward \ud83e\udd84 \ud83d\udde1 (@Edwin Hayward \ud83e\udd84 \ud83d\udde1) 1647164524
MAY BE A GOOD IDEA IF HE GOES BACK TO SCHOOL TO HAVE A MATHS LESSON OR TWO !!!!https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1502929203511111682\u00a0\u2026— Steve C (@Steve C) 1647166647
In the same interview, Gove spoke about how charities and social media can help in the process, by connecting refugees with families and community groups to help them fill out the paperwork.
“The alternative to that would be the government attempting to match people in Ukraine to individuals here – that could be quite a slow, bureaucratic process," he explained.
"We know charities, and we are working with them, who are working to identify people on the ground, and helping to identify people here to create the matching process.”
Gove also said he himself was "seeking to see what I can do” to help Ukrainian refugees when Ridge asked him if he would participate in the scheme by offering a room to a Ukrainian refugee.
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The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
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