Last Saturday marked two years since Russian’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine.

We all remember the horrendous scenes of families being forced to flee across Europe for safety from Vladimir Putin’s forces. Those who stayed behind have been bravely fighting ever since, aided by the support of the UK and other allied countries from across the world.

As we commemorate with sadness this anniversary, we must also continue in our unwavering support for Ukraine and its people as they fight against Putin’s regime.

Chichester continues to be a welcoming and safe place for people fleeing the conflict, having stepped up in 2022 and welcomed among the highest number of refugees of any area in the country. We, alongside local partner organisations and the Home Office, are still focussed on ensuring those settling into our community are safe and well cared for.

Central government also continues to support families who have settled here in the UK, with the announcement last week of a further extension to the Ukraine visa scheme until September 2026.

This solidarity at home is a crucial part in our wider support for Ukraine and its people as they continue to fight for freedom against Russian tyranny.

In news closer to home, I’m pleased to be supporting Sussex Police Cyber Crime Unit’s new series of online webinars aimed at making people more aware of the risk of fraud online and how to avoid falling victim to scams.

During the pandemic fraud and online crime rose dramatically. Over 50 per cent of all reported crime is now fraud related and over 80 per cent of that is facilitated using digital technology.

Surrey and Sussex Police’s webinars form part of the Government’s wider anti-fraud campaign, as well as the work of our brilliant Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne. This builds on our long-term plan to tackle online crime which has already seen a cut in fraud and computer misuse by 13 per cent in the last year.

I have worked to help many constituents who have been victims of online fraud and have seen first-hand how distressing it can be. I would therefore highly recommend signing up to these informative online talks with our specially trained local police officers.

There is already very high demand for March’s sessions, so to find out more visit Gillian Keegan News. for details and to sign up.