Amanda Holden has voiced her anger at the UK government after returning from the Ukrainian border, where she had been meeting with people who have fled the war.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge travelled to Poland last week, where she interviewed Ukrainian refugees for a new podcast called Ukraine’s Hidden Voices.
Now back home, Amanda has shared her frustration at the difficulty those fleeing the crisis are facing should they want to come to the UK for safety.
“I spoke to the amazing volunteers from a charity called Love Bristol who are trying to [help],” Amanda told Good Morning Britain on Tuesday.
“But they said, you know, [there are] 35 pages of paperwork, of which the first five questions are asking those refugees what their financial situation is and what their mortgage situation is. When they literally have a bag on their laps with all their possessions in. It’s utterly ridiculous.”
She added: “So, you know, Priti Patel is winning. We’re not going to be getting many Ukrainian people coming into our country, despite the fact 150,000 British people have volunteered to open up their homes.
“So I felt quite cross about that, to be honest.”
Speaking about the paperwork refugees must complete prior to being granted entry to the UK, Amanda said: “We’re all British, we were having a look, you know, my team and I were all looking through the paperwork going ‘you’d have a job to fill out these forms’, and we are British, so it is an absolutely appalling situation.”
Amanda added: “But obviously, she doesn’t want immigrants does she, Priti? I’m not political, but it’s made me really cross.”
At the end of the discussion, guest host Martin Lewis read out a statement from the government, which said: “We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure those fleeing horrific persecution in Ukraine can find safety in the UK and our Homes for Ukraine scheme now allows those without family connections to come here.”
Earlier in the conversation, Amanda revealed she’d found her trip to the Ukrainian border “very overwhelming”.
“I came home and I said to my own children, I can’t imagine what you and I would pack into a bag, how we would feel about leaving Daddy behind and then have to make a snap decision about what country we would want to go and live in,” she said.
“It’s just a horrendous situation for them all.”
Amanda previously said the aim of her podcast was to hear from “mums, dads, sons and daughters about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine”.
“At this time it’s vital that we don’t turn away, but we turn towards them and hear their stories and try to help in any way we can,” she explained. “Their stories are so important.”
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.