By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) — British Premier Keir Starmer has said a judge made the wrong decision in allowing a Palestinian family from Gaza to settle in the UK under a visa scheme originally designed for Ukrainian refugees.
The family of six was granted the right to join their brother in the UK after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office had breached their human rights by rejecting their application.
The case, which emerged on Tuesday, has sparked debate over immigration rules and the government’s response to humanitarian crises.
The family had applied for entry using the Ukraine Family Scheme, arguing that their circumstances were so “compelling and compassionate” that they should be considered outside the usual rules.
The scheme, which launched in March 2022, allowed Ukrainian nationals and their relatives to seek refuge in the UK if they had family ties to a British citizen or a settled resident.
Around 72,000 visas were issued before the program closed last February.
Upper Tribunal Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor ruled in favor of the family, citing their right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
In his ruling, he said the youngest children, aged seven and nine, faced a “high risk of death or serious injury on a daily basis” and that it was “overwhelmingly” in their best interests to be in a safe environment with their parents and siblings.
However, Starmer on Wednesday distanced himself from the ruling, stating he did not agree with the decision and supporting government plans to close what Downing Street called a “legal loophole.”
The prime minister’s official spokesperson confirmed that a solution would be announced in the “coming weeks” but declined to say whether the government would appeal the ruling.