Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
The prime minister is understood to be seriously considering plans to welcome 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children to the UK within the next few weeks.
It comes as the development secretary Justine Greening confirmed the government is looking at what more it can do to help children “across the coming days and weeks”.
David Cameron is thought to be looking at proposals put together by charities including Save the Children to admit thousands of children who have arrived in Europe without their parents.
The prime minister has been pressed by charities and some of his own colleagues to accept more refugee children Photo: REUTERS
It would be in addition to the 20,000 migrants the UK has already promised to welcome to the country, largely from camps in Lebanon and Jordan.
The prime minister has been pressed repeatedly by MPs in the House of Commons to do more to help children who have arrived in Europe without adult supervision.
Eric Pickles, the former communities secretary, also spoke of his “personal support” for the plans during a Sky News interview.
It comes as Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, visited the notorious Jungle refugee camp in Calais on Saturday
Speaking after his visit he called on the government to do more to registerrefugees from Europe as well as countries closer to Syria.
He said: “We have to do more. As a matter of urgency, David Cameron should act to give refuge to unaccompanied refugee children now in Europe – as we did with Jewish Kindertransport children escaping from Nazi tyranny in the 1930s.
“And the government must provide the resources needed for those areas accepting refugees – including in housing and education – rather than dumping them in some of Britain’s poorest communities.”
Speaking on Sky News Justine Greening, the development secretary, hinted that the plans could soon be adopted.
She said: “No country in Europe has done more to help Syrian refugees, the UK has been there since day one.
“We are looking at whether we can do more in relation to … unaccompanied children … children have always been, from day one, at the heart of our response in the region … we’ve absolutely put children at the centre of our work and we will continue to look at how we can do that.
“We’ll continue to look at how we can do that across the coming days and weeks.”
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has been on of the most vocal supporters of the idea to welcome more children to the UK.
He said: “Those who have made it to European shores now face cold winters, harsh conditions and are vulnerable to traffickers. We must open our hearts to those in need.”
