Frustrated families are still waiting to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their Norfolk homes - amid criticism of delays over the granting of visas to allow them into the UK.
And a Norfolk MP believes the government has intentionally made it difficult for those fleeing their homeland following the Russian invasion to secure visas, although the government insists that is not the case.
Government figures show 679 visas have been issued to Ukrainians heading to Norfolk through the Homes For Ukraine scheme, as of Tuesday, April 26 - just 85 of which are in Norwich.
Through the government scheme, which opened on March 18, people were invited to sponsor Ukrainian refugees - providing them room in their homes for six months.
But frustration over visa delays among Norwich families who offered to host Ukrainian refugees prompted Labour MP Mr Lewis to highlight the issue in Parliament.
The Norwich South MP, speaking in the House of Commons, said: "I have 20 constituents in touch with me who are trying to get the Ukrainian families they have offered homes to, into the country.
"Many of the people applying for visas have had emails about other visa seekers coming back to them in the confusion.
"We have an urgent visa processing and help system for MPs that is nothing but urgent: it takes days of prompting to get anything back."
Mr Lewis made reference to reports that a whistleblower working on the scheme had claimed the scheme was "designed to fail" - with visas for babies and children deliberately held up to prevent whole families travelling.
Mr Lewis asked: "I guess the question is: is it cock-up or is it conspiracy, or have the government cocked up their conspiracy to cock up?"
Home Office minister Kevin Foster said: "I am aware of the claims - false claims, I have to say - that there is a deliberate move to withhold individual visas. Those claims are absolute nonsense."
In response to Mr Lewis's question, he said only that the department was working hard to increase the number of visas issued.
Speaking after Thursday's discussion, Mr Lewis said he believed the process and bureaucracy was being deliberately used to limit the number of Ukrainians arriving in the country.
He said: "I think there is more than just simple delay going on here.
"A lot of constituents have opened up their doors. They want to help people, but they are being let down, as are the Ukrainians waiting to come here.
"This country is meant to be the sixth largest economy on the planet, and yet it cannot process a few thousand people. It defies belief, frankly."
Only about one in five of the 51,300 people granted visas through the Homes for Ukraine scheme nationally have so far made it to the UK.
Home secretary Priti Patel said the reason why “low” numbers of people fleeing the war in Ukraine had come to the UK was because many prefer to stay in the region.
The government has also said it is important that security checks are conducted on both applicants and sponsors to make sure Ukrainians fleeing the war and sponsors are safeguarded.
Former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt - who is sponsoring a mother and son to live in his home near Norwich - recently branded the UK's Ukrainian visa scheme as too "blooming complicated".
He had said: "Whereas other European countries have, open arms, welcomed very large numbers of refugees into their country, we are applying a quite complicated, a very complicated, visa system.
"We’ve designed a perfect system, but actually it’s so complicated that it’s imperfect.
“And we do need to be more generous, we need to be open-minded. We have to be prepared to take a few risks in order to get people to a place of sanctuary and safety.
“And it’s a challenge to the government. I mean their heart’s in the right place, but they have made it so blooming complicated that we’ve got to find a way of simplifying this, and sharpish.”
Do you have a story about offering a home to Ukrainian refugees, but being hampered by visa delays? Email dan.grimmer@archant.co.uk
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