BOLTON’s South East MP, has submitted a parliamentary question to see if safe passage visas can be introduced for relatives of Ukrainians in the UK.

Yasmin Qureshi announced her move in a tweet, and said she is expecting an answer by Tuesday from the Home Office.

She said: "I've just submitted a parliamentary question to the Home Office to ask whether they will introduce a safe passage visa for relatives of Ukrainians living in Britain.

"Will get an answer by Tuesday from Home (Secretary)."

Ms Qureshi has also called for more to be done in the way of sanctions imposed by the UK.

Bolton has a large Ukrainian community, and there is a huge amount of worry over what will happen next.

Earlier today Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, was in tears trying to get hold of his cousin, who lives in Lviv.

As the chair of the Bolton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), he said: "She’s not online and I fear for the worst. I just don’t know what’s going to happen.

"On my wife’s side, I have not even had time to think about looking to see if they are online.

"That said, I spoke to them on Sunday morning and one of my brother-in-laws actually said ‘don’t worry, the machine gun is on the wall ready’.

"That is the attitude of most Ukrainians, we’re not going to give up this lightly.

"We’re not going to give up 30 years of independence for a remodel of Hitler.

Ms Qureshi added: "The Government's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine is nowhere near good enough.

"We need to ramp up our economic sanctions and limit Russian economic activity to show our commitment to international law and stand against Putin's aggression.

"To sanction just three people and five banks does not even scratch the surface of what we should be doing.

"Global Britain' should be showing international leadership on an issue such as this, starting by ridding the City of London of Russian dirty money, sanctioning more of those close to Putin, and releasing the Russia Report.

"In Bolton specifically, I know the large Ukrainian community will be concerned about family, friends and loved ones. I will continue, amongst other Labour colleagues, to push the Government to do more to support Ukraine."

The Bolton branch is urgently appealing for donations to raise funds for vulnerable families in need of medical equipment and supplies, which is online via Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal on the GoFundMe site.

Donations can also be made at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, 99 Castle St, Bolton, BL2 1JP.