Dominic Raab urged to ‘get a grip’ as Brits still stranded abroad amid coronavirus crisis
Dominic Raab is being urged to help get Brits stranded abroad get back home (PA)
2 min read
The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is being told by Labour to “urgently intervene” and help UK citizens still stranded abroad during the coronavirus crisis to get back home.
With almost all commercial flights grounded globally amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the opposition party id calling for the Government to take control of repatriating Brits.
Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, has written to Mr Raab calling for him to “get a grip” on the situation, saying among those citizens “there is a growing sense they have been abandoned”.
Ms Nandy warned: “Many are running out of money or medicine, worried about their accommodation and have no idea when or if they might be able to get a flight home.”
She said many British citizens have now asked their MPs to assist them, and the Labour frontbencher wants parliamentarians to be given more help to support their constituents.
Ms Nandy called on Mr Raab to stop airlines “charging vast sums for flights home” and refusing to reimburse passengers for cancelled journeys.
“Where commercial flights are unavailable or unreliable, the Government must overcome its reluctance to intervene and charter flights,", she added.
“I understand the Government has concerns regarding the cost but these are British citizens, many of who have now been stranded for some time, and they must be brought home.”
It comes after Ms Nandy called on the Government to appoint an “interim” Foreign Secretary to fill in for Mr Raab as he deputises for the Boris Johnson while the Prime Minister recovers from the virus.
The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
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