Cameron refuses to accept 3000 refugee children from Europe

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to bow to calls for Britain to take in 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children scattered across Europe, claiming an open door policy would encourage more to make the perilous journey, the Russia Today reported.

He said Britain is already providing “generous” support refugee camps on the borders of Syria and that people should remain near their hometowns so they aren’t split up from their families.

In a concession, however, the British government agreed to take more unaccompanied children from camps in the Middle East.

The Home Office announced on Monday it will work with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to bring more unaccompanied children from camps surrounding Syria into the country. It said the children would be accepted on top of the 20,000 Britain has already pledged to take by 2020.

Home Office officials said the exact number of children would be decided by the UNHCR.

Prime Minister David Cameron faced pressure from MPs and charities to take in at least 3,000 unaccompanied children scattered across Europe, and not merely from refugee camps in the Middle East.

Cameron has however insisted that allowing more children into Britain would further make traveling to Calais a desirable option, and encourage more to make the hazardous journey across the Mediterranean.

Rather than accept more vulnerable people in Europe, the UK government has announced the creation of a £10 million (US$14.3 million) fund which will support migrant and refugee children living unaccompanied in Europe.

Source: MENA