Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tells of 'shock' over government restriction on Dubs refugee programme

Shock: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby
Yui Mok/PA
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The Archbishop of Canterbury today told of his “shock” that only 350 vulnerable children will be given safe haven in Britain under a special scheme - and urged the Government to reconsider the limit.

Justin Welby joined a chorus of outrage at the restriction on the Dubs programme announced yesterday by Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

“I was saddened and shocked to read that only 350 children will be received under the regulations in the Dubs Amendment,” he said.

“Refugees, like all people, are treasured human beings made in the image of God who deserve safety, freedom and the opportunity to flourish. Jesus commands us to care for the most vulnerable among us.”

He added that he “feared” that the Government’s decision did not “meet the spirit of the commitment” that was given during the passage of the Immigration Act last year.

“We believed that the Government was committed to welcoming up to 3,000 children under this scheme,” he explained.

“To end the scheme now, when such a small proportion have actually entered the country, is regrettable.”

In an apparent swipe at US president Donald Trump, he added: “We must resist and turn back the worrying trends we are seeing around the world, towards seeing the movement of desperate people as more of a threat to identity and security than an opportunity to do our duty.

“We cannot withdraw from our long and proud history of helping the most vulnerable.”

He called for town halls to be given resources needed to meet the cost of the resettlement of the 3,000 young people.

Downing Street stressed that the Dubs programme was not “open-ended” but that thousands of vulnerable children were being given sanctuary in the UK under different schemes.

Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street following talks with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Theresa May said the Dubs scheme was only one of a number of routes by which vulnerable children can find sanctuary in the UK.

The Prime Minister said: “We have been seeing quite a number of children and families being resettled here in the United Kingdom.

“I think what we are doing in terms of refugees is absolutely right, on top of course of the significant financial support and humanitarian aid we are giving to refugees in the region of Syria - a commitment of £2.3 billion, the second biggest bilateral donor.”

She added that 20,000 people, many of the childen, would be brought to Britain by 2020 under the Syrian vulnerable persons’ resettlement scheme.

No10 added that the 350 limit was based on places identified by local authorities.

However, Lewisham said it had places for the scheme that had not been taken up.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in