Liberal Democrats have renewed calls on Theresa May not to abandon child refugees by scrapping the scheme which would save thousands of vulnerable children from squalid camps and people traffickers.
This comes as pressure mounts on the Prime Minister over the decision, which was criticised by the daughter of Sir Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who organised the Czech Kindertransport operation that saved 669 children on the eve of the second world war.
She has called on Theresa May to remember her father’s example and “do the right thing” by reconsidering the decision to close the Dubs scheme for vulnerable refugee children.
May attended Winton’s 103rd birthday party as his local MP. His daughter Barbara has written an open letter reminding the prime minister of how she described him as an “inspiration” at his memorial service after his death aged 106 in 2015.
The letter says: “At his memorial you very generously described him as ‘an enduring example of the difference that good people can make even in the darkest of times’ and said: ‘I hope that his life will serve as an inspiration for us all … and encourage us to do the right thing.’
“As the world once again teeters on the edge of dark times, I ask you to remember those words.”
Pressure has also come from an open letter from over 200 high-profile celebrities and campaigners and by the Archbishop of Canterbury who called it “deeply unjust.”
Lord Dubbs, the refugee rights campaigner claimed that Sir Nicholas would have been horrified by the scrapping of the scheme.
Tim Farron said: “The Prime Minister said she believes in tackling burning injustices. But where is the justice in abandoning thousands of vulnerable children to squalid camps and people traffickers?
“The government want us to forget this humanitarian crisis, but we have not forgotten and neither have millions of people across the country.
“I am proud of Britain’s role as a sanctuary for the desperate and persecuted. Theresa May must stop betraying that legacy and do the decent thing.”