More than 2,500 Ukrainian refugees were welcomed into east London homes under a government scheme, new data shows.

As of March 31 this year, 2,544 arrivals had been placed across east London boroughs.

They arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, launched by the government after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

More than 20 per cent of these refugees have been placed in Redbridge, which has taken 540 people.

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Barking and Dagenham is the local authority in east London which has taken the fewest people, with 324 arrivals.

In total, 119,063 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the UK via the government’s humanitarian route.

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Home Office immigration figures showed that people arriving through humanitarian schemes made up 19 per cent of non-EU arrivals in 2022.

Jay Lindop, director of the centre for international migration at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said a series of “unprecedented world events throughout 2022” had led to record levels of international immigration to the UK.

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Speaking about the number of refugees the UK had taken in recent years, government minister Grant Shapps recently said: “This country has had a big heart, we’ve opened the country for Ukrainian refugees, for British nationals from Hong Kong.

“So actually, I’m rather proud of our record [on immigration].”

The number of people housed in east London under the Homes for Ukraine scheme is as follows:

  • Barking and Dagenham - 324
  • Newham - 463
  • Tower Hamlets - 426
  • Redbridge - 540
  • Havering - 362
  • Waltham Forest - 429