ALEX Salmond has accused David Cameron of 'shaming humanity' after the Prime Minister insisted the European migration crisis will not be solved simply by Britain taking in more refugees.
The Prime Minister claimed the government was taking action “right across the board” as European leaders struggled to agree on how to cope with unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers.
However, opponents, including the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman, said more refugees should be allowed into the country and that the PM risked Britain becoming a “pariah” because of its inaction.
Mr Salmond told ITV Border News: "Cameron is shaming not just the UK, he is shaming humanity with his total abject refusal to accept any joint collective responsibility."
It came as shocking photographs of a dead Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach were widely circulated on social media. The child was believed to be one of 11 Syrian refugees feared to have drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean on two boats bound for Kos.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats said Britain must act, while the SNP tweeted comments by Nicola Sturgeon, from a letter she sent to David Cameron last month. “I think most people want to see the UK play their part in a humanitarian response,” the First Minister said. “Scotland will play a full part.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who has already called for the UK to take in 10,000 extra refugees, said the Government could not turn its back on the desperate plight of asylum seekers.
The Labour leadership candidate said: “It is heartbreaking what is happening on our continent. We cannot keep turning our backs on this. We can – and must – do more. Let’s not look back with shame at our inaction.”
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “There is a humanitarian crisis on our doorstep but we are disengaged, cold, and irrelevant. We must take our fair share of refugees.
“Cameron’s chances of winning meaningful concessions ahead of an EU referendum will disappear fast if he makes our country a pariah – turning his back on our neighbours and desperate refugees.”
The pair spoke after Mr Cameron appeared to ignore German warnings that his EU renegotiation plans could be harmed if Britain refused to take in more refugees.
Instead, Mr Cameron insisted the problem could be tackled at source by working to bring peace and stability to the Middle East and stressed that the UK has taken a number of asylum seekers from Syria.
During a visit to Northamptonshire, he said: “We have taken a number of genuine asylum seekers from Syrian refugee camps and we keep that under review, but we think the most important thing is to try to bring peace and stability to that part of the world. I don’t think there is an answer that can be achieved simply by taking more and more refugees.”
Mr Cameron added: “We [are] helping countries from which these people are coming, stabilising them and trying to make sure there are worthwhile jobs and stronger economies there.”
However, Britain has accepted just 216 Syrian refugees so far under a scheme in partnership with the United Nations.
Mr Cameron also faced pressure from former foreign secretary David Miliband, who called for the UK to take its fair share of refugees as it did when it gave sanctuary to thousands of Europeans who fled persecution in the 1940s and 1950s.
Meanwhile, in Calais, hundreds of migrants gained access to tracks carrying Eurostar trains between London and Paris.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel