Plans to slash number of child refugees 'part of Brexit nightmare'
The PM is accused of closing the door on child refugees after reneging on a pledge to allow 3,000 stranded in Europe into Britain.
Friday 10 February 2017 10:35, UK
Theresa May's decision to limit the number of lone child refugees accepted into Britain faces its first legal challenge later as the daughter of "Britain's Schindler" blamed the move on Brexit.
Barbara Winton, whose father Sir Nicholas Winton saved hundreds of children from the clutches of the Nazis, said the move to close the Dubs scheme was part of a "Brexit nightmare" in which the Government felt under pressure to respond to public concern over immigration.
Charity Help Refugees is seeking a judicial review on the grounds "the Government has failed to lawfully calculate the number of available places for unaccompanied children because it failed to properly consult with local authorities as the statute required it to do".
It was initially expected the scheme, named after its architect Labour peer Lord Alf Dubs, who himself came to the UK on the Kindertransport for Jewish children during the Second World War, would provide a route to the UK for 3,000 children stranded in Europe without their parents, but that number has been significantly reduced.
Ms Winton told the BBC: "We are told the referendum result was in large parts due to concerns about immigration and it sometimes seems to be very difficult to separate out economic migrants from refugees, yet there are very different cases.
"My feeling is that refugees are refugees and it's not about immigration, it's about saving people's lives and giving them a future."
Josie Naughton, the co-founder of Help Refugees, said: "It is shameful that this Government is offering only 350 places - of which 200 are already taken to some of the most vulnerable children in Europe.
"This makes our legal challenge all the more important and pressing. The Government could do so much more - remember the 'kindertransport'."
The legal challenge follows concerns raised by humanitarian agencies that people smugglers would exploit the reduction in official entrants.
British Red Cross chief executive Mike Adamson said: "People traffickers thrive on the absence of safe and legal routes to protection - which is exactly what the Dubs Amendment is. By restricting legal channels, we are leaving children open to exploitation.
"We would encourage the Government to reconsider its decision. We can do better than offering a home to only 350 minors, when we know that so many more remain stranded and alone in camps which are cold, unsafe and no place for children."
Lord Dubs has branded the decision "shameful".
He told Sky News: "They have no right to say it's going to stop after a certain period.
"They shouldn't close the scheme, they should take more children as more local authorities step up to the mark and offer foster places."
The Archbishop of Canterbury added to the pressure on the Prime Minister when saying he was "saddened and shocked" by the decision to limit numbers.
The Most Rev Justin Welby described the refugees as "treasured human beings made in the image of God".
The Home office says the reduced figure has been calculated by taking into account local council limits.
But that was dismissed by the leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council in West London.
Stephen Cowan told Sky News he had written to the Home Office offering to take in more children but he never received a response.
"I wrote to Baroness Williams just last week to point out that we have offered to take an extra 15 more children but despite our offer and despite our pestering they have only given us 13.
"So I don't know if it's competence or I don't know if it's just a deliberate attempt not to let the children in. I just don't believe it. There's councils across the country, many of them in London, ready to step up."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are not giving up on vulnerable children who are fleeing conflict and danger.
"Thanks to the good will of the British public and local authorities in the last year alone we have provided refuge or other forms of leave to more than 8,000 children.
"Our commitment to resettle 350 unaccompanied children from Europe is just one way we are helping. We have a proud history of offering protection to those who need it and children will continue to arrive in the UK from around the world through our other resettlement schemes and asylum system.
"We're also clear that behind these numbers are children. It's vital that we get the balance right between enabling eligible children to come to the UK as quickly as possible and ensuring local authorities have capacity to host them and provide them with the support they will need."