British PM bows to pressure, agrees to take in more asylum seekers

Amid mounting domestic and international pressures, British Prime Minister David Cameron has finally announced that his country will take in thousands more Syrian refugees.

Cameron said his government would “act with head and heart” in response to the crisis and suffering of the refugees. He made the announcement after meeting with his Portuguese counterpart, Pedro Passos Coelho in Lisbon.

“We have already accepted around 5,000 Syrians and we have introduced a specific resettlement scheme, alongside those we already have, to help those Syrian refugees particularly at risk”, the prime minister said.

The UK has already taken 216 refugees from Syria under the Vulnerable Person's Relocation Scheme. Approximately 5,000 others were granted asylum after they traveled  Britain on their own.

Earlier, Cameron insisted that the resettlement of refugees is not the “solution” to the crisis engulfing Europe and said that Britain has “to deal with the problems in Syria”.

In a marked shift in tone he said: “We will continue with our approach of taking those from the refugee camps. This provides them with a direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey which has cost so many lives.

For days, politicians from across party line, churches, council leaders and community groups have been urging Cameron to change his hard-line stance on the unfolding asylum seekers crisis. The pressure mounted further after heart-breaking report of death of a Syrian toddler on a Turkish beach. Abdullah Kurdi's sons Aylan and Galip and wife Rehan were among 12 people who drowned in Turkey trying to reach Greece.

The British premier will give more details on his plans for asylum seekers during a press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy later on Friday.

Cameron’s decision to accept more refugees came as the crisis showed no sign of abating with harrowing scenes in Hungary where thousands are awaiting to get entry into Western Europe. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary has warned that free movement in the EU “is at risk”.

Meanwhile, European leaders are working on a resettlement plan. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, is expected to ask EU countries to take in 160,000 asylum seekers from Hungary, Italy and Greece under a new migrant quota system to be set out next week.

Germany, France and Italy have also demanded that asylum-seekers are shared more evenly. Jean Asselborn, the Luxembourg foreign minister, has called for the establishment of a European Refugee Agency, which would see whether every member of the bloc is applying the same standards for granting asylum.

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