‘We need answers!’ Councils plead with David Cameron on how 20000 refugees

The visits aimed to have a first-hand look at the conditions of Syrian refugees in the Kingdom, mainly in refugee camps, and the need for increasing worldwide support to Jordan as a safe host country for refugees, in a bid to minimise illegal crossings of migrants into Europe.

“The emergency can only be addressed through a holistic and comprehensive approach, with all EU Member States working together in a constructive manner”.

David Cameron committed an extra £115 million to tackle the migration crisis as European leaders attempted to overcome bitter divisions to agree a unified response.

Arriving in Brussels, Mrs May confirmed that the United Kingdom would not be taking part in any European re-settlement scheme and called for new measures to deter “illegal economic migrants” from trying to enter the EU. “As the Prime Minister announced earlier this month, we will resettle 20,000 Syrians over the course of this Parliament through this scheme”, The Independent newspaper sited a Home Office spokesperson as saying.

Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic all voted against the quota plan with Slovakia threatening legal action.

EU interior ministers agreed Tuesday to relocate 120,000 migrants from “frontline” European states Greece, Italy and Hungary.

But Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico says his country – which was one of four nations that voted against the plan – will be challenging the deal in European Union courts.

Representatives of donor countries and global aid agencies visiting Jordan must “closely” examine the impact of Syrian refugees on the already fragile host communities, analysts and officials said. While Syrians have been desperate for a political change in the U.S.’s hands-off foreign policy, a more complex proposition, the refugee crisis can be much simpler to address in the short-term.

The crossing through eastern Europe has been hard, with authorities alternately pushing refugees through as quickly as possible or halting them at borders.

Turkey is home to more than 2 million Syrian refugees on whom it has spent $8 billion since the start of the Syrian civil war.

They have been granted five year humanitarian visas and are free to work, claim benefits and use the NHS as required.

Chairman of LGA, David Simmonds, said: “We are pressing the government on exactly how the scheme will operate”. There are a number of issues that need to be urgently resolved, in particular the need for a firm commitment that councils resettling refugees will receive full financial support’.