Britain to take up to 20,000 Syrian refugees

Britain will take in up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next four and a half years, David Cameron told the Commons.

The prime minister said that the “scale” of the crisis of Syrian refugees fleeing to other countries in the Middle East and Europe meant that it was time for Britain to “do much more”.

Mr Cameron said that “thousands” of these refugees would be brought to Britain under existing schemes set up with the UN.

The 20,000 does not include Syrians who make their way to the UK and apply for asylum through existing routes.

Mr Cameron told MPs: “Given the scale of the crisis and the suffering of the Syrian people it is right that we should do much more – so we are proposing that Britain should resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the rest of this parliament.

“In doing so we will continue to show the world that this country is a country of extraordinary compassion, always standing up for our values and helping those in need.”

David Cameron said that Britain’s effort would specifically traget chidlren who had been affected by the conflict

The European Commission is understood to be preparing to ask EU member states to take part in a mandatory scheme to resettle 160,000 migrants who have
already arrived in the continent.

However Mr Cameron said that Britain was designing its “own approach” to the crisis because it is not part of the EUs borderless Schengen agreement.

It comes as the French president Francois Hollande said France is ready to take in 24,000 people.

“We will continue with our approach of taking refugees from the camps and elsewhere in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon,” he said. “This provides refugees with a more direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey to Europe which has tragically cost so many lives.”

Refugees coming to Britain will be chosen under established UN procedures and will be granted five-year humanitarian protection visas, said Mr Cameron. The scope of criteria used to identify vulnerable refugees will be “significantly expanded”, recognising that children have been particularly badly affected.