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Syrian conflict: David Cameron in talks over child refugees Syrian conflict: David Cameron in talks over child refugees
(35 minutes later)
David Cameron has said the government will talk to local councils to about what more can be done to help unaccompanied Syrian refugee children. The UK government has agreed to accept more unaccompanied Syrian refugee children, although it has not committed to a specific figure.
The PM is under pressure to accept 3,000 child refugees who have made it into Europe unaccompanied. David Cameron said ministers would talk to local councils about how many more they can re-settle.
A group of former Jewish refugees who came to the UK in the "Kindertransport" rescue efforts of the 1930s have urged the PM to "demonstrate compassion". It follows pressure from MPs on all sides and a group of German Jewish refugees who came to the UK in the "Kindertransport" rescue of the 1930s.
MPs will vote on the issue next week, with ministers facing possible defeat. Labour said the announcement did not go far enough and more action was needed.
SNP leader at Westminster Angus Robertson raised the issue of child refugees in Syria at Prime Minister's Questions, asking why Mr Cameron had taken so long to "change his mind" over this. Children registered in Greece, Italy or France before 20 March - when the EU struck its refugee deal with Turkey - will be eligible for resettlement, the government said.
Mr Cameron says the UK shouldn't be encouraging people to "make this dangerous journey" and would not be taking part in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes. It said the retrospective nature of the scheme would avoid creating a "perverse incentive" for families to entrust their children to people traffickers.
He said the UK was talking to Save the Children to see what can be done for children who have come to the EU before the deal with Turkey over refugees was signed. It would mean the UK can focus on the "most vulnerable children already in Europe without encouraging more to make the journey", Downing Street said.
Mr Robertson said he welcomed what he thinks is the "beginning of a U-turn". Mr Cameron, who has been facing the threat of a Conservative backbench rebellion in a vote next week over the issue, said he had accepted a revised amendment to the Immigration Bill put forward by Labour peer Lord Dubs.
Mr Cameron said: "We're going to go round the local authorities and see what more we can do, but let's stick to the principle we should not be taking in new arrivals to Europe." He told MPs: "I am also talking to Save the Children to see what we can do more, particularly about children who came here before the EU-Turkey deal was signed.
He later added that "hopefully we will make progress later this year". "What I don't want us to do is to take steps that will encourage people to make this dangerous journey because otherwise our actions, however well-meaning they will be, could result in more people dying than more people getting a good life."
The SNP's leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, who pressed Mr Cameron on the issue, said he welcomed what he said appeared to be the "beginning of a U-turn".
Mr Cameron has been under pressure to accept 3,000 child refugees who have made it into Europe unaccompanied.
But the government says the number will depend on what councils they can cope with.
A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Cameron had not gone far enough - and they wanted to see "greater action and more generosity".
In a letter to David Cameron, Sir Erich Reich, chairman of Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees, called on the PM to do more to help "the most vulnerable victims" of the Syrian conflict.In a letter to David Cameron, Sir Erich Reich, chairman of Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees, called on the PM to do more to help "the most vulnerable victims" of the Syrian conflict.
He said it was "incumbent on us to provide sanctuary to those in need".He said it was "incumbent on us to provide sanctuary to those in need".
Analysis Mr Cameron rejected comparisons with the "Kindertransport" scheme that helped Jewish children escape from the Nazis, at Prime Minister's Questions.
Political correspondent Ross Hawkins "To say that the Kindertransport is taking today children from France or Germany or Italy, safe countries that are democracies, I think that is an insult to those countries," he told MPs.
Conservative rebels are increasingly confident the government will accept more unaccompanied child refugees. One former cabinet minister told me ministers would probably make concessions, adding: "If we fall from the moral high ground into a ditch it doesn't do us much good." But he added: "We're going to go round the local authorities and see what more we can do, but let's stick to the principle we should not be taking in new arrivals to Europe."
A government source said there was a mood for compromise before Monday's vote. But the last thing ministers want is an announcement that smacks of a complete U-turn. In September 2015 the government said the UK would accept up to 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next five years.
A widely-discussed idea would see the authorities accept more lone refugee children who have family in the UK under existing rules; only a tiny number have come in on this basis. It isn't yet clear though how many more could be swiftly located and helped. And last month the government said it would accept up to 3,000 more refugees, mostly vulnerable children, from the Middle East and North Africa by 2020.
What matters now is not simply whether the government shifts its line - that looks highly likely - but how many more lone children it accepts. Even rebellious Tories certain the government will retreat are unsure by how far.
The government has said it will accept up to 3,000 refugees, mostly vulnerable children, from the Middle East and North Africa by 2020.
In September 2015 the government said the UK will accept up to 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next five years.
But critics say the moves will do nothing to help the thousands of unaccompanied refugee children who have made it to Europe, but are at risk of trafficking and abuse.But critics say the moves will do nothing to help the thousands of unaccompanied refugee children who have made it to Europe, but are at risk of trafficking and abuse.
Ministers in turn argue that accepting such children could encourage more families to put their children at risk by sending them to Europe alone.Ministers in turn argue that accepting such children could encourage more families to put their children at risk by sending them to Europe alone.
Last week MPs voted against an attempt to force the government to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees into the UK, but the issue is set to return to the Commons.Last week MPs voted against an attempt to force the government to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees into the UK, but the issue is set to return to the Commons.
In his letter, Sir Erich, who was among thousands of Jewish children rescued from Nazi Germany, said he had learned of the rejection of the resettlement proposal "with great sadness".In his letter, Sir Erich, who was among thousands of Jewish children rescued from Nazi Germany, said he had learned of the rejection of the resettlement proposal "with great sadness".
He added: "I strongly urge you and your colleagues to reconsider how we can intervene to help some of the most vulnerable victims of an internecine conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of people and displaced millions.He added: "I strongly urge you and your colleagues to reconsider how we can intervene to help some of the most vulnerable victims of an internecine conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of people and displaced millions.
"The echoes of the past haunt many of my fellow Kinder and I whose fate similarly rested with members of the British parliament."The echoes of the past haunt many of my fellow Kinder and I whose fate similarly rested with members of the British parliament.
"I feel it is incumbent on us to once again demonstrate our compassion and human-kindness to provide sanctuary to those in need.""I feel it is incumbent on us to once again demonstrate our compassion and human-kindness to provide sanctuary to those in need."
Downing Street has said it will take into account what it called the "strong views" that had been expressed.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs her party's refugee taskforce, will fly to Greece later to look at the issue first hand.Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs her party's refugee taskforce, will fly to Greece later to look at the issue first hand.