Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn has today called on the Prime Minister to urgently co-ordinate a proper humanitarian response to the refugee crisis.

Jeremy is calling on David Cameron to co-operate with the EU and UN so that the UK takes its fair share of refugees. He should also immediately bring together civil society and religious leaders, devolved administrations, councils and charities to properly plan and co-ordinate our humanitarian response.

His call comes in response to David Cameron’s insistence that Britain should not take any further refugees fleeing from conflict in the Middle East.

Jeremy Corbyn said:
“Nobody could fail to be moved by this heartbreaking crisis. Millions are desperately fleeing a terrible civil war, risking their lives and the lives of their children to seek only the most basic sanctuary.

“This government’s response has been shameful. David Cameron must shoulder his responsibility and begin urgent talks with our European neighbours and the UN so that the UK takes its fair share of refugees. He should immediately bring together civil society and religious leaders, devolved administrations, councils and charities to properly plan and co-ordinate our humanitarian response.”

“It is our duty as a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, but also as human beings, to offer a place of safety, to play a role internationally to share our responsibilities, and to work to end the conflict. We must also make sure that people who have risked their lives seeking refuge here are treated fairly when they arrive.

“Currently we are failing on all of these counts. This is far too serious to keep getting wrong. As a first step, we must urgently pool our expertise and resources to plan a proper humanitarian response.

“In the longer term we must stop supplying the arms fuelling the conflicts which the refugees are fleeing and take meaningful action to tackle climate change and the very serious implications this will have on refugee flows if left unaddressed.”