UK - PM accused of closing door on child refugees as ’Dubs’ scheme ends

Widespread anger and dismay has greeted a low-key announcement by the government that it is to end its commitment to provide a safe haven for thousands of vulnerable lone child refugees in Europe after only 350 have been brought to Britain.

Campaigners had hoped that as many as 3,000 “Dubs children” would benefit under the scheme conceded by David Cameron in May last year after a huge public outcry over the European refugee crisis and the prospect of Tory rebellion.

Although government ministers were careful not to put a precise figure on the extent of their commitment, MPs were told local authorities were being asked to provide homes for 3,000 children from camps in Greece, Italy and France. However, the scheme is to close after the arrival of barely one in 10 of that number.

The refusal to take in more of the most vulnerable child refugees contrasts sharply with Britain’s response to the aftermath of the last major refugee crisis on its doorstep – the breakup of Yugoslavia 15 years ago – when the UK took in more than 200,000 asylum seekers in a three-year period.

Robert Goodwill, the immigration minister, told MPs in a written ministerial statement that one further group of 150 lone child refugees are to be brought to Britain but they will be the last to be transferred under the scheme. He did not spell out that they would be the last to arrive under the scheme – but the Home Office later confirmed that it was the case when pressed.

A separate accelerated scheme to bring unaccompanied refugee children with direct family links to Britain under the Dublin convention is also to come to an end. Theresa May ordered the Home Office on Monday to look into reports that children dispersed from the Calais camp before Christmas were now returning to the French port.

Alf Dubs, who arrived in Britain on the Kindertransport and whose successful amendment introduced the scheme last May, responded with an appeal to the prime minister not to “shut the door” to some of the most vulnerable refugee children.

“During the Kindertransport, Sir Nicky Winton rescued 669 children from Nazi persecution virtually singlehandedly,” said Lord Dubs. “I was one of those lucky ones. It would be a terrible betrayal of his legacy if as a country we were unable to do more than this to help a new generation of refugees.”

The original campaign for the Dubs amendment called for Britain to help 3,000 of the estimated 90,000 lone child refugees who had arrived in Europe in 2015 amid the biggest refugee crisis seen since the second world war.

The immigration minister said on Wednesday that local authorities had said they only had the capacity to provide places for 400 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children until the end of March.

Goodwill said more than 200 child refugees had already been transferred from France to Britain under the Dubs scheme and the further transfer of 150 would bring the total number to 350.

The immigration minister said 900 lone child refugees had been transferred to Britain from France during 2016, including 750 as part of the UK’s support for the clearance of the Calais refugee camp known as the Jungle. They included the first group of 200 children under the Dubs amendment.

“The UK can be proud of its record helping refugee children and I can today announce, in accordance with section 67 of the Immigration Act, that the government will transfer the specified number of 350 children pursuant to that section, who reasonably meet the intention and spirit behind the provision,” said Goodwill.

“As required by the legislation, we have consulted with local authorities on their capacity to care for and support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children before arriving at this number. Local authorities told us they have capacity for around 400 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children until the end of this financial year.”

Goodwill insisted the government had never committed to a specific number, which was always going to be determined by the number of places local councils could provide. Campaigners say that the estimate of local government capacity was based on a consultation carried out nine months ago, and the announcement will be met with parliamentary opposition and legal challenges.

Rabbi Janet Darley, spokeswoman for the campaign group Safe Passage, said : “Our grandparents set us the example when they rescued 10,000 child refugees from Nazi persecution through the Kindertransport. Today’s announcement falls shamefully short.

“We know councils across the country who say that more can and should be done to help child refugees and that the numbers the government have based their decision on are threadbare and now nine months out of date. To make matters worse we know the criteria used to identify children as eligible under Dubs were unjustifiably narrow.

“Do we really want to be joining Donald Trump in slamming the door on vulnerable refugee children ?”

Judith Dennis, policy manager of the charity the Refugee Council, said : “The government’s job is far from done ; the global refugee crisis hasn’t gone away and if anything it’s getting worse.

“The UK needs to step up rather than step back, and ensure that we pull our weight by offering refuge to more vulnerable people and enabling more refugees to reunite with their families here.”

Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Commons home affairs committee – who played a leading role in the campaign, said the government was wrong to close down the Dubs scheme and the decision was against the spirit of parliament’s amendment to the law last year.

“To close the programme that helps lone child refugees after helping only 350 children is completely wrong,” she said.

“The Dubs amendment was designed to help the most vulnerable child refugees – those with no family to look after them, who are incredibly vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation. Dubs was never time-limited and the government said they would abide by both the word and the spirit of the amendment.

“No one ever suggested we would only help children for a few months then turn our backs, especially when the global refugee crisis shows no sign of abating. Whatever happened to the government’s commitment to ending modern slavery and trafficking ?”

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, added : “Last May, MPs from all parties condemned the government’s inaction on child refugees in Europe, and voted overwhelmingly to offer help to the thousands of unaccompanied kids who were stranded without their families backed by huge public support.

“Instead, the government has done the bare minimum, helping only a tiny number of youngsters and appearing to end the programme while thousands still suffer. At the end of December last year the government had failed to bring a single child refugee to the UK under the Dubs scheme from Greece or Italy where many of these children are trapped,” he said.

Alex Fraser, director of refugee support at the British Red Cross, called the move “disappointing”, adding : “We absolutely recognise that local authorities taking unaccompanied asylum seeking children into their care must be adequately funded ... However, with 21 million refugees globally last year, this is a time in history that calls for courage, compassion and welcome for people who are fleeing conflict and persecution.”

Senior figures in the church of England also expressed their dismay. The bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, called the decision “deeply disappointing”. He said : “Those who worked hard for this understood that the government was committing to up to 3,000 children. The need has not diminished. The survey of local authorities was undertaken several months ago and should at least have been redone before such a decision was made. I hope that the government will reconsider.”

The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, the bishop of Croydon, said : “It appears that the government may also be working on outdated information from local authorities as to how many places they will provide – there are plenty of local authorities now saying they could provide for more children. This appears to be a deliberate decision of will by the government rather than being forced on them and runs against the spirit of Lord Dubs’s original amendment.

“But most importantly there is a crying human need from children who will otherwise get into the hands of traffickers. By refusing to help those children you are in effect helping the trafficking industry.”

The announcement will dash the hopes of many children who have been waiting to hear whether they would be eligible for transfer to Britain under the Dubs programme. One of the 49 boys who were relocated to Biscarrosse, near Bordeaux, after the Calais camp was closed said on Wednesday he now feels he had been tricked.

“This is very bad news,” said Adam, 17. “We have stayed at this centre since November because we thought that after the Home Office had looked at our cases they would bring us to the UK. There is no difference between our cases and the boys they did bring to the UK. We have all run away from the same bad things in Darfur.”

Altaj, also 17, who spent more than a year at the Calais camp bfore being transferred to Biscarrosse, said that the worst thing was “waiting and waiting for nothing”.