UK bows to pressure, will accept Syrian children from Europe

May 04, 2016 20:32

Britain's government bowed to pressure on Wednesday and agreed to take in some unaccompanied children from Syria who have made their way to Europe.

Prime Minister David Cameron's office said children who registered in Greece, Italy or France before March 20, when the European Union struck a deal to return many migrants to Turkey, would be eligible to come to the UK. It did not specify how many Britain would accept.

The government said that "the retrospective nature" of its resettlement plan "will avoid creating a perverse incentive for families to entrust their children to people traffickers."

Britain has already agreed to resettle up to 3,000 vulnerable child refugees from the Middle East and Africa by 2020, as well as 20,000 Syrians from Middle Eastern refugee camps.

But the government had argued that accepting children already in Europe would encourage others to make the dangerous journey.

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