The government has faced an awkward day at the hands of Kent MPs who said it should be more decisive over help it planned for dealing with refugee crisis in Ukraine.

Three of Kent’s Conservative MPs called on the Prime Minister to act decisively over the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine as the conflict goes on.

Ashford MP Damian Green, along with Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark and Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch, are among 40 backbenchers who say action must be taken to help those fleeing the country and ease the burden on those countries bordering Ukraine, notably Poland.

In a letter to the PM, they say:

“We urge the government to do as much as possible to support our European partners who are currently the first safe havens for refugees - namely Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary and Slovakia.

"We also hope our ministers will take a flexible and pragmatic approach to those Ukrainians seeking temporary refuge in the UK until safe to return to their lives in their home countries.”

The letter goes on to say that the situation in Ukraine is “not just another migration crisis but a crisis of war".

"This is not just business as usual; we need sincere and immediate support for the Ukrainian people. We cannot leave Ukrainians in any doubt that their allies stand behind them in every meaningful way,” say the MPs.

Meanwhile the Conservative leader of Kent County Council has sounded a note of caution over the capacity of county and district and borough authorities to help large numbers of refugees because they already were coping with those from Afghanistan and Syria.

Cllr Roger Gough said that further refugees from a third country could present challenges and there were already 16 hotels across the south east that were accommodating Afghan refugees and more potentially along the way, awaiting “permanent resolution of their position.”

“I think the concern not just in Kent but across the whole of the South East is that if you look at the migration related issues, we have had the blocking up of dispersal mechanisms for asylum seekers over the course of the pandemic, which has not yet unwound.

"Hence we have had the use of hotels and places like Napier Barracks.”

Meanwhile, veteran North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale, took the Home Secretary to task over the pace of the government's plans. "Last week, she told me she would cut the red-tape, why isn't she doing it?"

He recalled how, in 1972, Kent played a pivotal role in taking in refugees fleeing from what was then Uganda and flying them to safety at West Malling airfield.

"If we can do it then, why now now?"