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| Lords try again to overturn Tory refusal to help child refugees in Europe | Lords try again to overturn Tory refusal to help child refugees in Europe |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The plight of child refugees stranded in Europe has become the centre of a battle between the House of Commons and the Lords, after peers voted in support of a second proposal urging the government to take action. | The plight of child refugees stranded in Europe has become the centre of a battle between the House of Commons and the Lords, after peers voted in support of a second proposal urging the government to take action. |
| Peers voted by 279 to 172, a majority of 107, for an amendment to the immigration bill calling on ministers to relocate and support a specified number of children in the UK. | |
| MPs, who narrowly rejected an earlier call by Lord Dubs for 3,000 unaccompanied children to be given homes in the UK, will now be asked to consider this “softer” proposal, which some Tories say they will back. | MPs, who narrowly rejected an earlier call by Lord Dubs for 3,000 unaccompanied children to be given homes in the UK, will now be asked to consider this “softer” proposal, which some Tories say they will back. |
| Related: Europe’s failure on refugees echoes the moral collapse of the 1930s | Related: Europe’s failure on refugees echoes the moral collapse of the 1930s |
| The government has said that it will resettle the same number of children directly from the regions they are fleeing, such the Middle East, but has rejected calls to accept children already in Europe. They say it will act as a pull factor and lead to other young people being sent on perilous journeys. | |
| Nick Baines, the lord bishop of Leeds, told peers that he applauded the government for agreeing to take children directly from the region, but warned that there was an urgent humanitarian need to address the “question on our doorstep”. | Nick Baines, the lord bishop of Leeds, told peers that he applauded the government for agreeing to take children directly from the region, but warned that there was an urgent humanitarian need to address the “question on our doorstep”. |
| Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who came to Britain as part of the government-backed Kindertransport scheme before the second world war, heard a number of emotional appeals in favour of his amendment. It asked the government to resettle “a specified number of unaccompanied refugee children from other countries in Europe”, in consultation with local councils, but removed the overall 3,000 figure. | Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who came to Britain as part of the government-backed Kindertransport scheme before the second world war, heard a number of emotional appeals in favour of his amendment. It asked the government to resettle “a specified number of unaccompanied refugee children from other countries in Europe”, in consultation with local councils, but removed the overall 3,000 figure. |
| Conservative MPs, who were persuaded to back the government on Monday after the concession from ministers to take children directly from the countries they were fleeing, may now offer their support to Dubs. | Conservative MPs, who were persuaded to back the government on Monday after the concession from ministers to take children directly from the countries they were fleeing, may now offer their support to Dubs. |
| After the vote, he urged Theresa May and David Cameron to change their minds. “Given the breadth of support it has received from across the House, I hope now that the home secretary and the prime minister will think again and advise the Commons to accept the amendment,” he said. | After the vote, he urged Theresa May and David Cameron to change their minds. “Given the breadth of support it has received from across the House, I hope now that the home secretary and the prime minister will think again and advise the Commons to accept the amendment,” he said. |
| Heidi Allen, a Tory MP and leading campaigner on this issue, said she abstained during Monday’s vote with a heavy heart, but was now ready to back the call from peers and believed that Tory colleagues would do the same. | Heidi Allen, a Tory MP and leading campaigner on this issue, said she abstained during Monday’s vote with a heavy heart, but was now ready to back the call from peers and believed that Tory colleagues would do the same. |
| She argued that it was not enough to deal directly with the regions, saying the children in Europe were “trapped – they can’t go backwards, they can’t go forwards”. | She argued that it was not enough to deal directly with the regions, saying the children in Europe were “trapped – they can’t go backwards, they can’t go forwards”. |
| Allen told the Guardian: “I think that a lot of MPs have not seen the camps. You rely on the briefings that you receive, you rely on the government doing what you think is the right thing. It may sound good enough but if you’ve seen it and been there, you have a greater sense and awareness of the desperation.” | Allen told the Guardian: “I think that a lot of MPs have not seen the camps. You rely on the briefings that you receive, you rely on the government doing what you think is the right thing. It may sound good enough but if you’ve seen it and been there, you have a greater sense and awareness of the desperation.” |
| The camp in Calais was “France’s dirty little secret”, she added as she called on the authorities to seek out children and process their paperwork urgently. | The camp in Calais was “France’s dirty little secret”, she added as she called on the authorities to seek out children and process their paperwork urgently. |
| “We can’t fix the world and rescue every child,” she said, but warned that many of these children were vulnerable to trafficking. “There is a reason 129 children disappeared when they demolished half the jungle in Calais.” | “We can’t fix the world and rescue every child,” she said, but warned that many of these children were vulnerable to trafficking. “There is a reason 129 children disappeared when they demolished half the jungle in Calais.” |
| Asked if she thought others Tory MPs would support the amendment when it returns to the Commons, she said: “Yes I do.” | Asked if she thought others Tory MPs would support the amendment when it returns to the Commons, she said: “Yes I do.” |
| Baines said he feared the impact on future generations if Europe failed to help tens of thousands of children who were “genuine refugees”. | Baines said he feared the impact on future generations if Europe failed to help tens of thousands of children who were “genuine refugees”. |
| “In meeting with refugees, it became very clear that the generations are divided. The older people still dream of going back home. The younger people and their children do not believe they have a home to go back to,” he said. | |
| “Isis has destroyed everything, there is no infrastructure, there are no homes, there are no schools. What does it mean we want to help these people go home?” | “Isis has destroyed everything, there is no infrastructure, there are no homes, there are no schools. What does it mean we want to help these people go home?” |
| The government has said it is determined not to take children from European camps because of fears that will encourage families to send young people into Europe alone. | The government has said it is determined not to take children from European camps because of fears that will encourage families to send young people into Europe alone. |
| “What we have looked at very carefully is how do we best protect vulnerable people, how do we not fuel a system that is incentivising people to be exploited by trafficking gangs and make perilous journeys,” said the prime minister’s official spokeswoman. | “What we have looked at very carefully is how do we best protect vulnerable people, how do we not fuel a system that is incentivising people to be exploited by trafficking gangs and make perilous journeys,” said the prime minister’s official spokeswoman. |
| “There have been UNHCR [UN high commissioner for refugees] experts who have talked about the concerns that if you pursue an approach that offers resettlement for unaccompanied child refugees in Europe, you could see families seeking to separate off from their children in order to create new ways of getting to Europe. That is not what we want; we don’t want them to put lives at risk.” | “There have been UNHCR [UN high commissioner for refugees] experts who have talked about the concerns that if you pursue an approach that offers resettlement for unaccompanied child refugees in Europe, you could see families seeking to separate off from their children in order to create new ways of getting to Europe. That is not what we want; we don’t want them to put lives at risk.” |
| But Yvette Cooper, a Labour MP who is chair of Labour’s refugee taskforce, said that was not the UNCHR position. She has launched a petition calling on the government to accept the amendment. | But Yvette Cooper, a Labour MP who is chair of Labour’s refugee taskforce, said that was not the UNCHR position. She has launched a petition calling on the government to accept the amendment. |
| “Since MPs voted last night, I have been contacted by hundreds of people expressing their dismay at the government’s refusal to help vulnerable child refugees in Europe. Ministers should be deeply ashamed of what they have done,” said Cooper. | “Since MPs voted last night, I have been contacted by hundreds of people expressing their dismay at the government’s refusal to help vulnerable child refugees in Europe. Ministers should be deeply ashamed of what they have done,” said Cooper. |
| “When thousands of children are sleeping rough in Europe every night, exposed to abuse and exploitation because local services are overwhelmed, the UK should be doing its bit to help.” | “When thousands of children are sleeping rough in Europe every night, exposed to abuse and exploitation because local services are overwhelmed, the UK should be doing its bit to help.” |
| Martha Mackenzie, the senior government adviser for Save the Children, said: “We feel very optimistic that the new amendment, when it goes back to the Commons, has a chance of being accepted. A number of Conservative MPs put their heads above the parapet to do something about children in Europe. They were uncomfortable at the prescriptive nature of it, at having a number on it. But for a number of MPs, the new amendment could be the thing that encourages them to break ranks and vote for it.” | Martha Mackenzie, the senior government adviser for Save the Children, said: “We feel very optimistic that the new amendment, when it goes back to the Commons, has a chance of being accepted. A number of Conservative MPs put their heads above the parapet to do something about children in Europe. They were uncomfortable at the prescriptive nature of it, at having a number on it. But for a number of MPs, the new amendment could be the thing that encourages them to break ranks and vote for it.” |