UK could take more refugee children in migrant camps, Conservative MP Justine Greening says

Charities led by Save The Children are pressuring the government to admit at least 3,000 children into the UK

Children stand at the entrance to their shelter in a migrant camp in Dunkirk during harsh winter conditions (Getty)

The British Government is seriously considering taking thousands of unaccompanied refugee children, the International Development Secretary has claimed.

Conservative MP Justine Greening said Prime Minister David Cameron will be deciding how best to help refugee children in the “coming days and weeks”.

Thousands of refugee children who fled their war-torn countries without their parents are now left unaccompanied in migrant camps in Europe, leaving them vulnerable.

And growing pressure from charities, led by Save the Children, to admit at least 3,000 children into the UK has prompted the Government to re-think its position on the intake of refugees.

Previously, Britain agreed to take 20,000 Syrian refugees, but insisted on only taking those from refugee camps in the Syrian region, and not from migrant camps in Europe.

According to the Observer, government sources said the acceptance of these children would be in addition to the 20,000 refugees already agreed on.

Ms Greening told Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan: “We’ve steadily evolved our approach as this crisis has evolved; we’ve been right at the forefront, frankly, of helping children who have been affected by this crisis and will continue to look at how we can do that over the coming days and weeks.”

The news follows calls by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for Mr Cameron to offer children more than just refuge in the UK, but to also provide them with proper homes and education.

Mr Corbyn visited the Calais Jungle and the Grande-Synthe camp in Dunkirk on Saturday to witness the humanitarian crisis there first-hand.

He compared the acceptance of refugee children to Britain’s welcoming of children escaping the Nazis in 1939.

He said: “We have to do more. As a matter of urgency, David Cameron should act to give refuge to unaccompanied refugee children now in Europe – as we did with Jewish Kindertransport children escaping from Nazi tyranny in the 1930s.

“And the government must provide the resources needed for those areas accepting refugees – including housing and education – rather than dumping them in some of Britain’s poorest communities.”

Labour’s home secretary Andy Burnham criticised Mr Cameron for a “lack of judgement and leadership during this refugee crisis”.

Mr Burnham said: “[Cameron] has been pursuing his own individual demands on EU migration while the rest of Europe has been grappling with the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.

“He has left Britain looking blinkered and selfish. Just miles from our own doorstep, there are hundreds of refugee children in makeshift French camps living alone in abhorrent conditions.

“Britain can, and should, be doing more to give those kids a place of safety and I believe the vast majority of people here would support it.”