Britain’s foreign aid budget will be used to provide homes for refugees in the UK as part of a “fundamental rethink” on how the Government tackles the growing crisis, George Osborne has announced.
The Chancellor said that the aid budget should be used in a way that helps “Britain’s national interest”, not just “the rest of the world”.
David Cameron will address the Commons on Monday to provide details of exactly how Britain will increase its contribution to help refugees, Mr Osborne said. Sources within Downing Street have reportedly said the UK will offer to take “at least 10,000” – a dramatic increase on its previous commitments.
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Osborne admitted that the picture of Syrian three-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey had “brought home to everyone the severity of the crisis”, likening it to photos of napalm victims from the Vietnam war.
“That picture brought home to the British public, and indeed politicians, the sheer horror of what’s going on,” he said.
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While Mr Osborne insisted that “the policy hasn’t changed” on the refugee crisis, he said: “Britain will approach the problem with a head as well as a heart.”
“In the shorter term, we are going to take more refugees – but not in a way that encourages them on to boats. In the longer term, I think we need a fundamental rethink of the way we spend our aid budget.”
Mr Osborne said money from the overseas aid budget would be given to local councils in Britain to help them prepare for the arrival of larger numbers of refugees.
He said Britain would select people directly from refugee camps on the Syria border so as not to encourage them to make the journey themselves. He suggested preferential treatment would be given to orphans, but otherwise gave no details as to how the selection process would work. The refugee crisis - in pictures
“We are trying to deter criminal gangs rather than provide a magnet,” he said. “We don’t want to say to people that you can only have a home in Britain if you have made that dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.”
Mr Osborne also said that more of Britain’s aid budget would go towards improving conditions on the camps bordering conflict zones “to keep them there and house them there”.
“You’ve got to make sure the aid budget is well spent,” he said. “Where is Britain’s national interest? It’s in reducing this big problem on our doorstep.”
There was a mixed reaction to Mr Osborne's announcement on social media, and while some accused the Chancellor of "sleight of hand", others said the solution was "win-win for everyone".
.@George_Osborne sums up selfish #Tory attitude on @AndrewMarr9 show @BBCOne says UK overseas aid must benefit Britain's national interests!
— Isobel Freeman (@SocialistGreen) September 6, 2015
Clever sleight of hand by Osborne. Use syria crisis to divert foreign aid money to local government, masking deep cuts till next year #marr
— Phil Irving (@irvingphil) September 6, 2015
@George_Osborne's announcement of using the OA budget is appalling,they divert money to avoid paying, creating further problems overseas.
— Jonathan Lane (@jlaorganbuilder) September 6, 2015
@BBCNewsnight what a sensible plan George Osborne gave on the Andrew Marr show. Win win for everyone
— Peter Walsh (@pwalshie) September 6, 2015
Foreign aid budget to help local councils look after Syrian refugees , George Osborne says. Curious if this meets OECD definition of aid.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) September 6, 2015
.@George_Osborne you heartless cretin. Cutting foreign aid (diverting it within Britain) will only create more suffering &refugees elsewhere
— Louise Hazan (@greenhaze) September 6, 2015
#Osborne to use some of foreign aid budget to pay for refugees in UK. Very politically astute move. #Marr
— Captain Darling (@Capt_Darling) September 6, 2015
It came as the Government faced increasing call from some bankbench Conservatives to carry out air strikes in Syria as a way of tackling the refugee crisis at its source.
Mr Osborne acknowledged that the West was not doing enough to deal with the Syrian civil war and specifically the militant group Isis, but said Mr Cameron would not risk a repeat of the failed Commons vote to approve air strikes two years ago.
"We are not going to go back to the House of Commons unless we would be sure that we would get a different answer if we were asking to intervene," he said.
