07/09/2015

UK To Accept 20,000 Refugees From Syria

Prime Minister David Cameron has outlined his plans to accept more refugees into the UK from Syria.

Last week, he confirmed the UK would resettle "thousands" more refugees in the country, but had declined to give a specific number. He revealed further details today, 7 September, as MPs returned to Parliament from their summer recess.

In a statement, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would accept 20,000 refugees over the next five years.

It had been speculated that the UK would accept around 10,000 people, who will come from camps bordering Syria, as opposed to those who are already in Europe.

The UK has been under pressure to accept more refugees after a photograph of a three-year-boy from Syria, Alan Kurdi, was found drowned and washed up on a beach in Turkey. An online petition calling for Britain to bring more refugees has received more than 420,000 signatures at the time of writing. However another petition, calling for no more immigrants to be allowed into the UK, has received more than 82,000 signatures.

(JP)

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