The British government has long been on the line of fire for its poor response to the ongoing migrant crisis. Citing its response as “increasingly inadequate”, the Church of England bishops have called for at least 50, 000 Syrian refugees to be taken in over the next five years. In a letter signed by 84 bishops, sent to Prime Minister David Cameron, the CoE urged him to take a “meaningful and substantial response to the scale of human suffering we see daily.”
The bishops wrote, “We believe such is this country's great tradition of sanctuary and generosity of spirit that we could feasibly resettle at least 10,000 people a year for the next two years, rising to a minimum of 50,000 in total over the five-year period you foresaw in your announcement.” They also pledged to encourage their churches to give housing and foster care to the refugees. They were however let down as they did not receive a response from the PM. Rt Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham said it is “disheartening that we have not received any substantive reply.”
The British government had pledged to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.
