Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to back down on his pledge to keep refugees out of Britain, defying calls from a senior UN official, religious leaders and his own Conservative Party MPs for the UK to accept more asylum seekers.
Cameron warned that Europe’s refugee crisis will not be solved by accepting “more and more refugees” and insisted the best solution was to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.
The prime minister faces growing criticism among parliamentarians, religious leaders and tens of thousands of citizens who have signed e-petitions calling for Cameron to accept more refugees.
Photographs of a drowned Syrian boy who was found washed up on a beach in Turkey were published on Wednesday, highlighting the plight of refugees trying to reach Europe.
Some senior Tory backbenchers expected Cameron to shift his position after the pictures went viral, but the PM insisted Britain is already doing enough to help refugees.
During a visit to Northamptonshire, he said: “We have taken a number of genuine asylum seekers from Syrian refugee camps and we keep that under review, but we think the most important thing is to try to bring peace and stability to that part of the world.
“I don’t think there is an answer that can be achieved simply by taking more and more refugees.”
Referring to the pictures, he told the Independent: “These photos are clearly shocking. This is why we continue to be at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria – including as the second biggest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid, having already pledged £900 million.
“In addition to this financial support, we have granted protection to almost 5,000 Syrians since the crisis began and continue to tackle the organized trafficking gangs seeking to profit from this human misery.”
Conservative MP Johnny Mercer said he would like to see the UK take “its fair share of refugees.”
“The prime minister is absolutely right that you do not solve this problem by just taking more and more refugees. There is a multi-faceted approach to the problems of North Africa. But I do think one part of that approach is to do our bit. I would like to see Britain do more,” he said.
Public opinion in the UK appears to back Mercer’s stance. An online petition calling for the UK to accept more asylum seekers and increase support for refugees had received more than 175,000 signatures as of 2pm on Thursday, having jumped by nearly 50,000 in just a few hours this morning.
The petition, which is hosted by Parliament’s website, could trigger a debate in the House of Commons because it has exceeded the required 100,000 signatures.
Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper accused the Cameron of turning his back on the worst migration crisis since World War II.
Cooper, who is also shadow home secretary, said: “It is heart-breaking what is happening on our continent. We cannot keep turning our backs on this. We can – and must – do more. If every area in the UK took just 10 families, we could offer sanctuary to 10,000 refugees. Let’s not look back with shame at our inaction.”
Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn slammed the PM for his “wholly inadequate” response to the refugee crisis, adding the UK is “shamed by our European neighbors” by refusing to take in more asylum seekers.
Britain has accepted less than 300 Syrian refugees since the start of 2014, while Germany has given asylum to 800,000 refugees this year alone.
Corbyn told the Independent: “The government’s response to the refugee crisis has been wholly inadequate, and we are being shamed by our European neighbors. It is our duty under UN law, but also as human beings, to offer a place of safety, and play a role internationally to share our responsibilities, and to try to end the conflict.”
Religious leaders joined the call for action, with Cardinal Vincent Nichols urging “wealthy” Europe to draw up short-term and long-term responses to the unfolding “human tragedy.”
German politicians and newspapers have this week attacked Cameron for his reluctance to accept refugees in Britain.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s home affairs spokesman Stephan Mayer said: “If the British government is continuing to hold this position that Great Britain is out of the club in this big task in sharing the burden, certainly this could do some harm to the bilateral British-German relationship and certainly also to David Cameron’s ambitions to be successful in the renegotiation.”
Cameron has been accused of hypocrisy by some commentators, who point to several instances where the prime minister boasted of the UK’s “proud history” of accepting refugees.
In June last year, Cameron publicly backed Refugee Week, stating the UK has “a long tradition of providing sanctuary for those fleeing persecution.”
Cameron also signed a pledge for the Refugee Council before the 2010 general election, after which he said he promised “to remember the importance of refugee protection.”
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