What David Cameron's U-turn on child refugees really means

The first children granted sanctuary under the scheme are set to arrive before the end of this year

Syrian refugee children stand at a fence in Nizip district near Gaziantep, Turkey (EPA)

Britain will take in lone child refugees from Europe, David Cameron has said, in a major reversal of Government policy that charities said should enable thousands of vulnerable young people to escape poverty and exploitation on the Continent.

Downing Street said the Government would consult with local councils to determine how many children could be resettled. Refugee children who registered in Greece, Italy, and France prior to March 20th will be eligible for the scheme.

The cut-off point coincides with the EU-Turkey deal to return refugees arriving in the EU, and would ensure that the new policy is consistent with the Government’s determination not to provide a “perverse incentive” for refugees from the Middle East and North Africa to risk journeys to Europe, officials said.

While the Government said it would not set numbers, Save the Children, the charity that has led calls for the UK to take in unaccompanied children, and which will work with the Government in implementing the plan, said that the “lifeline” should allow “thousands of lone, vulnerable children” to come to the UK.

The first children granted sanctuary under the scheme are set to arrive before the end of this year.

The U-turn by the Government comes after months of pressure from charities and MPs over the issue. Britain has already committed to taking in 20,000 refugees living in refugee camps in the Middle East, as well as 3,000 vulnerable children who will be resettled from the region, and from North Africa.

But Mr Cameron had, till now, resisted calls from opposition parties and many of his own MPs to extend the offer of UK sanctuary to unaccompanied refugee children already in Europe.

“No country has done more than Britain when it comes to help for Syrian refugees,” he told MPs. “We are going to do more for children who were already registered in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal. But we must stick to the principle that we shouldn’t be encouraging people to make that perilous journey. That’s been the cornerstone of our policy and that should remain the case.”

The Government had been facing defeat in a House of Commons vote next week on the issue. Around 30 Conservative MPs were planning to back an amendment tabled by Lord Dubs – who was himself one of 10,000 Kindertransport refugees who fled the Nazis in the 1930s – which would have committed the Government to accepting lone minors from Europe. Downing Street said the Government would now be backing the Dubs amendment.

Lord Dubs welcomed the decision, and urged the Prime Minister to “move swiftly to ensure the Home Office works closely with local authorities to find foster families to give these young people a stable and secure home.”

Tanya Steele, chief executive of Save the Children, said the announcement “echoes Britain’s proud history of offering safety at times of great crisis”.

“Refugee children, many of whom have fled war and persecution and have made dangerous journeys to Europe alone are now living on the streets, in overcrowded camps or locked in police detention,” she said. “The Prime Minister has today offered a lifeline to these vulnerable children and we will work with the government and the UN to ensure that these commitments are rapidly implemented so that thousands of lone, vulnerable children can reach safety in the UK in the coming months.”

However, the Refugee Council was more critical. Its head of advocacy Dr Lisa Doyle said the plan would offer “limited chances” to lone children.

Charities want to see the Government reconsider its policy of denying sanctuary to child refugees who have arrived in Europe after the March 20th cut-off point. Rates of arrival remain high despite the EU-Turkey deal, with Save the Children figures indicating that in one week in April, 633 unaccompanied refugee children arrived in Italy alone.

The Local Government Association said councils “stood ready” to help, but called on the Government to clarify long-term funding arrangements and provide more detail for how the scheme would operate nationally.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who first raised the issue of unaccompanied child refugees with the Prime Minister in October last year, said the announcement was “a victory, but not the end of the story.”

“The detail remains to be seen,” he said. “Tens or hundreds simply won’t be good enough and would be a betrayal of the British public and Parliament...The Government must also ensure that local authorities are properly funded so that they can help these traumatised children rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential.”

Yvette Cooper, chair of Labour’s Refugee Taskforce also called for more detail on the plan.

"The Prime Minister should not try to fudge this,” she said. “He was wrong to claim last week that child refugees alone in Europe don't need help, so I hope he will be clear about that now and set out what the Government will do next. That way everyone can welcome the Government's action and come together to support child refugees.”