Responding to David Cameron’s confirmation today that the UK would accept thousands more Syrian refugees, Amnesty International’s refugee expert Steve Symonds said:

“This apparent change of heart by Cameron shows the power of public opinion and that thousands of people taking action really can help to change things.

“What we need to see now is the prime minister commit to a very substantial increase in the UK’s Syrian resettlement scheme. This would be a positive first step towards honouring the UK’s legal and moral responsibility to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

“While Cameron is right to emphasise the need for collective European commitment to address underlying causes of conflicts and brutality, this crisis is happening now and it needs an urgent and immediate response.

“Given the UK’s potentially influential position in the EU, this government’s ongoing unwillingness to take its fair share of responsibility for refugees arriving in Europe is divisive, and has encouraged other governments to refuse to engage in an urgently required pan-European response to meet the needs of those escaping bullets, bombs and torture.”