Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting refuge to some of those refugees who have been affected by the recent fires in the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.

The identification and relocation of vulnerable migrants, including unaccompanied children, on French territory remains the domestic responsibility of the French government.

The Greek Government and International agencies have stated that approximately 400 unaccompanied minors were left in the Moria camp in early September following transfers of unaccompanied minors to the Greek mainland since November 2019. After the fire, it is reported that the remaining unaccompanied minors were also moved to the mainland.

The UK focusses on resettling vulnerable refugees through our refugee resettlement schemes and we rely on referrals of recognised refugees from UNHCR, who do not currently prioritise resettlement for refugees already in Europe.