In a vote last night (April 25), MPs rejected a plan to bring 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian refugee children to the UK.

MPs voted against the amendment, which would have seen Britain accept children who had already travelled to Europe, by 294 votes to 276.

The amendment to the Immigration Bill was tabled by Lord Dubs, who himself came to the UK as an unaccompanied child fleeing from Nazi Germany in 1939 as part of the Kindertransport system.

A report released by Save the Children late last year recommended relocation as “one of the few viable long-term solutions for the protection of the most vulnerable unaccompanied children”.

Old Bexley and Sidcup MP and immigration minister James Brokenshire, who led the debate in opposing the amendment, said the Government needed to avoid any policy that encourages children to place their lives in the hands of people traffickers and criminal gangs.

He said: “In any response, we need to be careful not inadvertently to create a situation in which families see an advantage in sending children ahead, alone and in the hands of traffickers, putting their lives at risk by making them attempt treacherous sea crossings to Europe.”

Mr Brokenshire went on to praise the £2.6 billion in aid the UK has given to support displaced people in the region.

During the debate, ministers opposed to accepting Syrian refugees who had already made the journey to Europe expressed a preference for taking Syrian children from areas neighbouring the conflict zone.

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The following south east London MPs voted to accept 3,000 child refugees already in Europe:

Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich)

Clive Efford (Eltham)

Teresa Pearce (Thamesmead and Erith)

Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham Deptford)

Heidi Alexander Lewisham East

Jim Dowd (Sydenham)

And these MPs voted to reject the amendment:

Jo Johnson (Orpington)

Bob Stewart (Beckenham)

James Brokenshire (Old Bexley and Sidcup)

David Evenett (Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Gareth Johnson (Dartford)

Adam Holloway (Gravesham)

Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks)

Didn't vote:

Bob Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst)