Facundo Arrizabalaga—AFP
U.K. premier says government will review number of refugees allowed into country.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday he was “deeply moved” by images of a dead Syrian toddler on a Turkish beach and promised Britain would fulfill its “moral responsibilities” in the migrant crisis. But he did not announce any new concrete measures for tackling the situation despite increasing pressure at home for his government to let more refugees into Britain.
“Anyone who saw those pictures overnight could not help but be moved and, as a father, I felt deeply moved by the sight of that young boy on a beach in Turkey,” Cameron said during a visit to a factory in northeast England. “Britain is a moral nation and we will fulfill our moral responsibilities.”
He added that Britain would keep the number of refugees allowed into the country “under review.”
“We do care… we will do more, we’re doing more, that’s why we sent the Royal Navy to the Mediterranean,” he added. “There isn’t a solution that’s simply about taking people, it’s got to be a comprehensive solution.”
A petition urging Britain to accept more refugees has drawn well over 100,000 signatures and could now be debated in parliament. Many newspapers also carried editorials Thursday calling for more refugees to be let in.