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David Cameron meets refugees in Lebanon camp | David Cameron meets refugees in Lebanon camp |
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David Cameron has visited a Lebanese refugee camp amid the crisis triggered by war in neighbouring Syria. | David Cameron has visited a Lebanese refugee camp amid the crisis triggered by war in neighbouring Syria. |
Mr Cameron, who is making his first visit to Lebanon as prime minister, met a family in a camp in the Bekaa Valley who are due to be flown to the UK. | Mr Cameron, who is making his first visit to Lebanon as prime minister, met a family in a camp in the Bekaa Valley who are due to be flown to the UK. |
He said: "I wanted to come here to see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees." | He said: "I wanted to come here to see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees." |
The UK will accept up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years, Mr Cameron told MPs earlier this month. | The UK will accept up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years, Mr Cameron told MPs earlier this month. |
He has appointed Richard Harrington as minister for Syrian refugees to ensure the arrivals are given a "warm welcome" in the UK. | He has appointed Richard Harrington as minister for Syrian refugees to ensure the arrivals are given a "warm welcome" in the UK. |
The prime minister's visit comes as European Union interior ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss plans to spread 160,000 asylum seekers across 23 EU states through mandatory quotas. | The prime minister's visit comes as European Union interior ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss plans to spread 160,000 asylum seekers across 23 EU states through mandatory quotas. |
Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to attend and oppose plans for an EU-wide quota system for refugees. | Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to attend and oppose plans for an EU-wide quota system for refugees. |
Under EU law the UK, Ireland and Denmark are exempt from the quota plan. | Under EU law the UK, Ireland and Denmark are exempt from the quota plan. |
Analysis | |
James Landale, BBC deputy political editor | |
It is David Cameron's first visit to Lebanon and he is here with a clear aim: to address the criticism that Britain is not doing enough to tackle Europe's refugee crisis. | |
So he walked around a refugee camp in the Bekaa valley just one mile from the Syrian border to meet just some of the families benefitting from British aid. | |
He also visited a school at heart of Beirut supported by British cash where Syrian and Lebanese study alongside each other. | |
The PM's argument is that this is the help Syrian refugees need rather than any encouragement to risk the dangerous journey to Europe. | |
So to a nation now familiar with television pictures of Syrian refugees fleeing across Europe, Mr Cameron wants to remind people of where the vast majority are, namely in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Syria itself. | |
Mr Cameron claims British aid is dissuading "hundreds of thousands" of refugees from heading to Europe. | |
Aid agencies on the ground suggest poverty and an inability to pay the traffickers is a more important factor. And while welcoming British aid, they also suggest it is nowhere near enough. | |
So today is about the PM trying to reframe a debate that has raged for many weeks, a debate that has not always gone his way. | |
Migrant crisis: Why is it erupting now? | |
EU migration: Crisis in graphics | |
'Determined' | 'Determined' |
Mr Cameron said: "I want to focus on how we help Syrian refugees here in Lebanon, in Jordan, how we make sure we discourage people from making this dangerous journey to Europe but instead we take people from these camps and we make them welcome in the United Kingdom, in our country." | |
Following a meeting with Lebanon's prime minister Tammam Salam, Mr Cameron said the UK was "determined to do all we can" to strengthen the security of Lebanon. | Following a meeting with Lebanon's prime minister Tammam Salam, Mr Cameron said the UK was "determined to do all we can" to strengthen the security of Lebanon. |
He said training had already been provided to more than 5,000 Lebanese soldiers and the UK had helped to build a series of watchtowers on the border with Syria. | He said training had already been provided to more than 5,000 Lebanese soldiers and the UK had helped to build a series of watchtowers on the border with Syria. |
The UK will also "train, equip and mentor the Lebanese armed forces", he said. | The UK will also "train, equip and mentor the Lebanese armed forces", he said. |
Lebanon is to receive £29m of the additional £100m in UK aid for Syria and surrounding countries announced by the prime minister earlier this month. | Lebanon is to receive £29m of the additional £100m in UK aid for Syria and surrounding countries announced by the prime minister earlier this month. |
This will pay for food packages for thousands of refugees, as well as clean water, blankets, stoves, mattresses, counselling support and play areas for children. | This will pay for food packages for thousands of refugees, as well as clean water, blankets, stoves, mattresses, counselling support and play areas for children. |
There are 1.1 million Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, which is more than a quarter of Lebanon's population. | There are 1.1 million Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, which is more than a quarter of Lebanon's population. |
The camp visited by the prime minister is operated by the UN's refugee agency and is one of 1,500 in the Bekaa Valley, which is less than a mile from the Syrian border. | The camp visited by the prime minister is operated by the UN's refugee agency and is one of 1,500 in the Bekaa Valley, which is less than a mile from the Syrian border. |
Mr Cameron also watched the enrolment of pupils on the first day of the academic year at the Sed el Bouchrieh school in Beirut. | Mr Cameron also watched the enrolment of pupils on the first day of the academic year at the Sed el Bouchrieh school in Beirut. |
At the school Syrian children are joining classes alongside Lebanese children as part of a drive, part-funded by UK aid, to integrate refugees into the wider society. | At the school Syrian children are joining classes alongside Lebanese children as part of a drive, part-funded by UK aid, to integrate refugees into the wider society. |
The former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband criticised the UK government for only agreeing to resettle 20,000 refugees over the next five years. | The former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband criticised the UK government for only agreeing to resettle 20,000 refugees over the next five years. |
Mr Miliband, who heads up the aid agency International Rescue Committee (IRC), said it was inadequate to take just 4,000 refugees from Syria per year and said it was the equivalent of the number arriving on the beaches of Greek island Lesbos every day. | Mr Miliband, who heads up the aid agency International Rescue Committee (IRC), said it was inadequate to take just 4,000 refugees from Syria per year and said it was the equivalent of the number arriving on the beaches of Greek island Lesbos every day. |
"Each country needs to shoulder the burden and agree to both relocate refugees who have reached the continent and resettle the most vulnerable from the Middle East," he said. | |