Syria air strikes: a leading charity has called on the UK to take in more refugees

A leading humanitarian aid agency has called on the British government to increase its intake of refugees following the decision to launch air strikes in Syria.

The British government has so far pledged to take in 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees by 2020 but the International Rescue Committee UK (IRC) says this is simply not enough.

Melanie Ward, associate director at the IRC, told i100.co.uk that an upsurge in violence in Syria "inevitably risks" an increase in those who will have to flee their homes.

It cannot be argued that accepting 4,000 Syrian refugees per year - or around 6 per parliamentary constituency - is our fair share of the millions who have fled Syria. This is more the case now than ever before.

• Melanie Ward, associate director for policy and advocacy at the IRC

A spokesperson for the Department for International Development explained that the government has spent over £1bn in response to the Syria crisis already - helping to resettle refugees in neighbouring countries.

However, Ward pointed out that there are already thousands who have fled the region altogether and that the crisis must be addressed.

The government should urgently revise the numbers upwards, including by welcoming a significant number of the refugees whose desperation has seen them reach Europe's shores already.

• Melanie Ward, associate director for policy and advocacy at the IRC

In a statement provided to i100.co.uk, the minister for Syrian refugees, Richard Harrington, said:

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and we are providing more than £1.1 billion in humanitarian aid.

We have also taken in almost 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers since 2011 and we are expanding the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme to resettle a further 20,000 people by the end of this Parliament.

We are working closely with UNHCR to identify and resettle those in the region who are the most vulnerable. This also deters people from attempting these perilous journeys which have already led to so many tragic deaths.

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