MP calls for disused Kent airport to be used to receive Ukrainian refugees
A disused airport could be used to receive Ukrainian refugees and fly aid to the Polish border if its owners can get the go-ahead.
Manston airport, near Ramsgate, has been closed since 2014.
But talking to ITV Meridian today, MP for North Thanet Sir Roger Gale said: "In 1972 we brought thousands of Ugandan Asians into West Malling aerodrome in Kent and we put them up in a tented city. We did it almost overnight.
"If we could do that then, we can do it now at Manston. Within about 48 hours Manston could be open to receive passengers and to take out humanitarian aid."
WATCH: "It can be done" - Sir Roger Gale talks to ITV Meridian
Meanwhile, a hangar at the airport is providing a base for relief agencies collecting vital medical supplies and equipment bound for Ukraine.
The effort is being co-ordinated by Charlie Cawsey of United with Ukraine, which is organising deliveries to Ukraine, including insulin for diabetics.
He told ITV Meridian: "People with diabetes are often forgotten, even though they are the population most at risk from medical complications due to a lack of medical supplies.
"We have got 1,000 volunteers in Ukraine. So we send out small shoeboxes with everything you might need. The consignments are met by volunteers on the ground in Poland and Ukraine and taken by a relay network across Ukraine to places like Odessa and Kharkiv and Kyiv. It is extremely targeted.
"People from Poland and Ukraine have volunteered to use their cars and vans to collect these shipments and that means we can get insulin to Poland and into the country where people need it."
Formerly an RAF site, Manston airport had the 11th-longest civilian runway in the UK.
It was originally built with three "lanes" during the Second World War to handle emergencies, and is among the widest in Europe.
The airport closed in May 2014, with the last flight watched by tearful staff and furious campaigners.
Since 2015 the airport has been used as an emergency lorry park in the event of temporary cross-Channel traffic problems.