Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis calls for immediate action to ‘fix’ Ukrainian visa scheme

She says the system is ‘simply not working’

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis has said the Ukranian refugee visa system is “simply not working”.

Eavis made the comments after her attempt to offer shelter to a family failed to come to fruition.

Like more than 200,000 other British people, Eavis signed up to the Government’s Home for Ukraine scheme, which aims to provide shelter for refugees fleeing Russian invasion.

Eavis revealed on Twitter that the family she was set to house were unable to leave Kyiv.

The festival organiser intended to provide the family shelter at Worthy Farm, Eavis’ home and the site of the iconic music festival.

Eavis tweeted: “We need to fix the UK’s visa process for Ukrainians, as it’s simply not working.

“17 days ago we were introduced to Veronika and her family, and pledged to host them here at Worthy Farm.

“Their visa applications were submitted on the same day through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but still they have not been granted. Veronika’s family remains stuck in Kyiv.

“We need our government to take immediate action so that the many thousands of UK residents desperately trying to help people escape a war zone are actually able to do so.”

Emily Eavis is the Glastonbury co-organiser (PA Archive)

More than 200,000 people have expressed an interest in opening their homes to a Ukrainian refugee under the scheme.

But there have been concerns that the matching system has led to people turning to strangers on social media, and being left vulnerable to being exploited by potential human traffickers.

The speed at which visas are being processed has also attracted criticism.

Emily’s father Michael, a dairy farmer by trade, co-founded the festival in September 1970, while her influence, both music and political, has grown steadily since 1999.

Additional reporting by PA.