Top judge voices concern over UK politician’s comments about Gaza family coming on Ukraine scheme

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - England's top judge said Tuesday she is "deeply troubled" by an exchange between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and main opposition leader Kemi Badenoch about a Gazan family coming to the UK under the Ukraine scheme.

Sue Carr, the lady chief justice, who is head of the judiciary for England and Wales, expressed concern after Starmer said a judge had made the "wrong decision" in letting a family from the Gaza Strip settle in the UK under a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

The prime minister's remarks came during last week's Prime Minister's Questions after the Conservative Party leader raised the issue, saying the decision was "completely wrong" and it "cannot be allowed to stand."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper then said she had her team working on closing the "loophole."

A family of six seeking to flee the Palestinian enclave was allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.

The family had made their application through the Ukraine Family Scheme which was introduced in 2022, a month after the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, and lasted until Feb. 19, 2024.

The scheme allowed Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to come to the UK if they had family members already settled or residing in the country.

"Both question and the answer were unacceptable," Carr told reporters Tuesday, as reported by Sky News.

"It is for the government visibly to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary.

"Where parties, including the government, disagree with their findings, they should do so through the appellate process," noted the top judge.