Hundreds of vulnerable Syrians to be given refuge in UK
Amnesty says move is 'long overdue' but polls suggest nearly half of voters are opposed
![Syrian refugee children walk in the Bab al-Salam refugee camp in Syria's northern city of Azaz on July 15, 2013. Five thousand people a month are dying in the Syria war which has now thrown u](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iZiSoCdWnuk3meggD8oYcN-415-80.jpg)
HUNDREDS of Syrian refugees will be allowed to settle in the UK over the next year, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced.
Nick Clegg last night confirmed that women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of sexual violence, torture victims and the elderly will be offered refuge in the country.
The Coalition has refused to commit to a quota, says The Times, but it is understood that several hundred refugees from the conflict in Syria will be accepted during the next 12 months.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We are one of the most open-hearted countries in the world and I believe we have a moral responsibility to help," said Clegg.
The Deputy Prime Minister said Britain will not open its borders to all Syrian refugees, but added: "We can reach out to some of those who need it most."
The move was described as "long overdue" by Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, but she said that it was "never too late to do the right thing".
Allen told the BBC that the Government's line on allowing Syrian refugees to settle in the UK had been "shameful" so far, with "months of refusal and weak arguments".
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said that "compassion and common sense have won through".
However, the idea of offering refuge appears to be "unpopular with voters", says the Times. A YouGov poll last week suggested that 47 per cent of Britons are opposed to admitting several hundred Syrian refugees, while just 39 per cent are in favour.
The UK's resettlement programme is to be separate from an ongoing UN scheme, which has seen Germany commit to admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees. Britain will work with the UN to examine each applicant on a case-by-case basis, but the UK looks unlikely to join the UN's official resettlement scheme, which enforces targets.
Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to spell out more details of the Government's plan to MPs later today.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
7 drinks for every winter need possible
The Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?
Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Kremlin seeks to quell Assad divorce reports
Speed Read Media reports suggest that British citizen Asma al-Assad wants to leave the deposed Syrian dictator and return to London as a British citizen
By Hollie Clemence, The Week UK Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Is it safe for refugees to return to Syria?
Talking Point European countries rapidly froze asylum claims after Assad's fall but Syrian refugees may have reason not to rush home
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Assad's fall upends the Captagon drug empire
Multi-billion-dollar drug network sustained former Syrian regime
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How should the West respond to Syria's new leadership?
Today's Big Question The weight of historical interventions and non-interventions in the region hangs heavy on Western leaders' minds
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published