David Warburton MP for Somerton and Frome defied the Conservative whip this week in a critical vote over the Government’s policy on child refugees.
An amendment to the Immigration Bill was tabled by Labour peer Lord Dubs, committing the UK to take in 3000 vulnerable child refugees from camps in Calais and Dunkirk.
In a vote in the House of Commons on Monday 25th April, the Government narrowly defeated Lord Dubs’ amendment. David Warburton was one of just five Tory MPs to vote against a three-line whip and the Government in support of Lord Dubs’ amendment.
David Warburton said, “I decided that I simply could not support the Government’s proposal to refuse these extremely vulnerable children entry to the UK and abandon them to their fate.
“The refugee crisis is perhaps the most urgent humanitarian crisis since the Second World War and I strongly believe we must do all we can to help genuine asylum-seekers fleeing their war-torn homelands. In particular we have a moral duty to protect unaccompanied, defenceless refugee children.”
MPs voted against the proposals by 294 to 276. The amendment was backed by Labour, the SNP and Liberal Democrats.
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