The Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, says his country will provide resettlement to “thousands” more Syrian refugees in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Although no figure has been decided, the Prime Minister said the extra refugees would come from camps bordering Syria, not from among those already in Europe.
He said that Britain would act with “head and heart” to help those most in need.
Mr Cameron also announced a further £100 million in humanitarian aid for those in camps in Syria, Turkey, Jordan and the Lebanon.
The promise is coming amidst intensified calls for the UK to take in more refugees.
The extra refugees are expected to come from UN camps bordering Syria.
No specific figure has been agreed, but Mr Cameron has previously said the UK would continue to take in “thousands”.
He is likely to make an announcement in Madrid after talks with Spanish and Portuguese leaders that had been intended to cover Britain’s proposals for EU reform.
Speaking during a visit to Portugal, the Prime Minister said: “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.
“As I said earlier this week, we will accept thousands more under these existing schemes and we keep them under review.
“And given the scale of the crisis and the suffering of the people, today I can announce that we will do more – providing resettlement for thousands more Syrian refugees”.
Reacting to Mr Cameron’s remarks, UN Refugee Agency spokeswoman, Melissa Fleming said: “We welcome very much the move to increase resettlement spaces for Syrians in the UK.
“Those spaces are going to be critical to the lives and future of 4,000 people.”
