A former Kindertransport refugee has called on the prime minister to take in 3,000 unaccompanied children from Syria.
Sir Erich Reich, chairman of the Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees, has written to David Cameron, urging him to do more to “help some of the most vulnerable victims” of the troubles in the region.
In his letter Sir Erich, who was among thousands of Jewish children rescued from Nazi Germany and given safe haven in Britain, urged Mr Cameron to “demonstrate compassion”.
Mr Cameron has previously said the UK has made a commitment to take 20,000 refugees and a further 3,000, mainly unaccompanied children, from outside Europe. However this is unlikely to include the thousands of unaccompanied children who have already made it into Europe.
Born in Vienna in 1935, Sir Erich was one of 10,000 children sent from Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in the UK before the start of the Second World War. He arrived in the UK in August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of war and never saw his parents again.
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Ministers have previously argued that offering sanctuary to lone children could result in more falling into the hands of traffickers, as more families would put their children at risk by sending them into Europe alone.
Last week the government defeated an Immigration Bill amendment, tabled by Lord Dubs – himself a Kindertransport veteran, that would have let 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian minors enter the UK.
However the issue is set to return to the Commons for a further vote next week, with ministers facing possible defeat.
In his letter, Sir Erich said that he learnt of the rejection of resettlement proposals “with great sadness”.
He said: “I strongly urge you and your colleagues to reconsider how we can intervene to help some of the most vulnerable victims of an internecine conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of people and displaced millions.
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“The echoes of the past haunt many of my fellow Kinder and I whose fate similarly rested with members of the British parliament.
“I feel it is incumbent on us to once again demonstrate our compassion and human kindness to provide sanctuary to those in need.”