Lord Dubs calls on UK to be more ‘sympathetic’ towards migrant children
The Labour peer, who fled the Nazis on the Kindertransport, called on home secretary to adopt a more welcoming stance towards migrants
Labour peer Lord Dubs has called on the UK to be “more sympathetic” towards migrant children after the body of a Sudanese teen was discovered on a French beach.
The 16-year-old Sudanese migrant was found dead on Wednesday morning after officials were told a makeshift boat had capsized at sea.
Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has pledged to make the route “unviable”, said the death was “an upsetting and tragic loss of a young life”.
“This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people,” she added.
Lord Dubs, who fled the Nazis on the Kindertransport, called on Patel to adopt a more welcoming stance towards migrants, particularly those with family in the UK.
“There’s also the point we should be more sympathetic to some of the children who want to come here, often to join relatives in this country, and so it’s up to Priti Patel to say ‘look we’ll welcome these people, if they’ve got family here particularly, some of them may be unaccompanied, and cooperate with France to bring them over’,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.
He added: “It’s very simple, and I have an amendment to the immigration bill. It’s coming up in September. All she has to do is to agree to it, and then we’ll be fine.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
