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Refugee crisis: Wales 'fair share' call by Plaid Cymru Refugee crisis: Leadership call by Jones to Cameron
(about 4 hours later)
Wales should offer to take its "fair share" of refugees, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has said, as thousands of migrants try to enter the EU. The UK government should find some "backbone" and accept more refugees to solve an "unfolding humanitarian tragedy", the first minister has said.
"We've got a proud history of providing sanctuary to refugees fleeing war," she said, calling for a Welsh quota. Carwyn Jones said Wales "stands ready to play its full part", and called on UK ministers to show some leadership.
The Welsh government said immigration policy was not devolved but it was "very willing" to accept refugees. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood had accused the Welsh government of not being vocal enough over the crisis.
Monmouth MP David Davies has warned the NHS would collapse if Britain and other EU countries house all the migrants.Monmouth MP David Davies has warned the NHS would collapse if Britain and other EU countries house all the migrants.
'Joint declaration' 'Massive scale'
Ms Wood told BBC Radio Four the Welsh government had not "stepped up to the mark" over the migrant crisis. Commenting on the migrant crisis and accusations of his own government's lack of action, Mr Jones said: "Wales stands ready to play its full part in responding to this unfolding humanitarian tragedy, just have we always have done in the past.
"However, these are non-devolved issues and we desperately need to see some leadership from the UK Government on the matter.
"This is not part of some diplomatic chess match - we are talking about human suffering on a massive scale.
"Sadly this Tory Government has once again abandoned its international responsibilities.
"They urgently need to rediscover some backbone and their moral compass - backing Labour's call to accept 10,000 refugees would be a good start and I offer my full support to this approach."
Mr Jones accepted that this meant Wales would accept 500-600 refugees.
'Fair share'
Earlier, Ms Wood told BBC Radio 4 that the Welsh government had not "stepped up to the mark" over the migrant crisis.
"We should be able to find at least a joint declaration by all parties in Wales, which would be a welcome first step in order to put this case for taking our fair share," she said."We should be able to find at least a joint declaration by all parties in Wales, which would be a welcome first step in order to put this case for taking our fair share," she said.
She said it was was difficult to suggest how many migrants Wales should take, but she had previously supported Oxfam's suggestion in response to the Syrian crisis that each local council accepts "two or three" families.
With 22 local councils in Wales, this would amount to between forty and seventy families of Syrian refugees.
But Monmouth Conservative MP Mr Davies told BBC Radio Cymru that the NHS would fall apart if Britain and other European countries gave a home to all the migrants fleeing such countries.But Monmouth Conservative MP Mr Davies told BBC Radio Cymru that the NHS would fall apart if Britain and other European countries gave a home to all the migrants fleeing such countries.
He said: "We have to say, 'look we are very sorry, but if you are fleeing from a war zone there are camps set up in Turkey and Jordan where your safety can be ensured'.He said: "We have to say, 'look we are very sorry, but if you are fleeing from a war zone there are camps set up in Turkey and Jordan where your safety can be ensured'.
"We cannot accept many thousands into Europe - if everyone came we will see the end of the NHS and the welfare state, because we cannot cope with these large numbers.""We cannot accept many thousands into Europe - if everyone came we will see the end of the NHS and the welfare state, because we cannot cope with these large numbers."
Meanwhile the Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn has called for a fairer distribution of refugees across the UK.Meanwhile the Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn has called for a fairer distribution of refugees across the UK.
He said cities such as Newport were shouldering the burden while there were no asylum seekers in the prime minister's constituency of Witney in Oxfordshire.He said cities such as Newport were shouldering the burden while there were no asylum seekers in the prime minister's constituency of Witney in Oxfordshire.
"Newcomers bring the benefit of a more diverse, vibrant city but create significant pressures on local services such as schools," he wrote on his blog."Newcomers bring the benefit of a more diverse, vibrant city but create significant pressures on local services such as schools," he wrote on his blog.
A Welsh government spokesman said: "Immigration policy is not devolved and the number of asylum seekers admitted to the UK is a matter for the UK government.A Welsh government spokesman said: "Immigration policy is not devolved and the number of asylum seekers admitted to the UK is a matter for the UK government.
"However, the first minister has written to the home secretary confirming that the Welsh Government is very willing to play its part in supporting the implementation of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme.""However, the first minister has written to the home secretary confirming that the Welsh Government is very willing to play its part in supporting the implementation of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme."
Analysis by Nick Servini, BBC Wales political editor
Tucked away on the north-western corner of Europe, Wales is a long way from the front line of the migrant crisis, but the debate here is the same as every other country in the EU.
And while there is deep concern of the impact on public services and jobs of accepting too many refugees, there's also an awareness from some that Wales has a moral responsibility to help out.
This will become a numbers game. Many will agree that more should be done to help out but the test is how many families each community should be prepared to accept.
The Welsh Refugee Council says there were 2,600 asylum seekers in Wales in May, a fraction of the numbers experienced in other countries.
It believes there's scope for more, and it now appears that Labour and Plaid Cymru believe so as well.