The UK is now “motoring” on processing Ukrainian refugee visas after disappointment over a slow start, a Home Office minister has told Sky News.

Kit Malthouse made the comments after latest figures showed just 12,000 people had arrived in the UK under two schemes to help those from the war-hit country, after nearly 80,000 applications.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the delays were “shocking” and “truly shameful”.

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Last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel apologised and expressed frustration over the time taken to get the new system up and running.

Latest figures showed that by Tuesday, 10,800 people had arrived in the UK under the Ukraine family scheme – for those with existing family connections in the UK.

But only 1,200 have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.

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

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Speaking to Sky’s Trevor Phillips, policing minister Mr Malthouse was confronted with figures suggesting that Ireland, a much smaller country, had been able to take in a larger number than the UK.

He said: “I completely understand and I know that people are disappointed with the progress of the visa regime.

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“The home secretary was out this week expressing her frustration and regret that it hasn’t been quicker but we are motoring now.”

Just over 40,000 visas have been issued and Mr Malthouse said that the reason that many of those people had not come to the UK was that they were “thinking about their options, praying hope upon hope that they can return to their country but in possession of the ability to come to the UK for safe haven if they wish”.

He added: “Now, we are processing as fast as we can, we have now got hundreds of people from across Whitehall working on this.

“I think we did a thousand yesterday, we will accelerate during the week and we hope to get them done as fast as we possibly can.”

Ms Cooper told Sky News: “It is shocking, it is just truly shameful the long delays that we had in getting Ukrainian families visas to come stay with British families who want to host and support them.

“Thirty thousand people are waiting for visas, around half of them have been waiting for more than 10 days and many of them have been waiting for two, for three weeks now and having filled in all of the forms.”

She said the delays were “just disgraceful”, adding: “I do not understand why Priti Patel is so failing to get a grip on this.”

“British people want to be generous and want to provide support and Priti Patel is not letting them.”

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