A Scarborough solicitor is hoping it won’t be too long until he can house a Ukrainian family forced to flee their home due to the Russian invasion.

Iain Butterworth, a consultant solicitor at Thomas Miller Law, has registered with the Home Office’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme and is sponsoring a family whose application is pending approval.

Iain Butterworth

Iain Butterworth says he wanted to do something positive

He told the Gazette: ‘I’ve just moved out of the property I’m offering. I moved out a few weeks ago to my new house. I’ve got a lot of clients and friends in Ukraine. Being a lawyer who does litigation, I felt it would be good for me to do something positive and not just be fighting all the time.’

A shipping litigation specialist, Butterworth got in touch with clients he has worked with in Ukraine. ‘Straight away, even before I thought about this whole initiative, I sent a message to [them] and said “there’s a safe place for you here if you need it”.’ He also set up a Facebook page called 'Scarborough Sunflower Appeal' to support refugees.  

A man contacted Butterworth last week, telling him: ‘It’s now time for you to look after my family.’ The man's family has travelled hundreds of miles to get to the Polish border and are now waiting for their application to be approved.

Butterworth is one of several lawyers trying to support Ukrainian refugees. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, a group of immigration lawyers set up an advice service for Ukrainians seeking shelter in the UK. Within days the project had registered over 430 volunteer lawyers and given pro bono advice on almost 700 requests.

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