Thousands of protesters are marching on Downing Street to demand the British Government takes in more refugees as thousands of men, women and children continue to drown in desperate attempts to reach Europe.
Demonstrators were working their way from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon, demanding action as a crucial United Nations summit on the crisis approaches.
Marchers chanted “refugees are welcome here” while waving banners reading “no-one is illegal” and “let’s help people”.
Amnesty International said actors Juliet Stevenson, Vanessa Redgrave and George MacKay as well as the Kaiser Chiefs’s Simon Rix would be among demonstrators.
Lord Alf Dubs, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and Baroness Sheehan were also due to address a rally in Parliament Square.
Brendan Cox, the husband of killed Labour MP Jo Cox, said she had planned to join the protest before her death in June.
Writing on Twitter, he said he and their children Cuillin and Lejla “marched in her stead today imagining her by our side”.
It comes a year after around 100,000 protesters took to London’s streets calling on the UK to resettle more asylum seekers amid the international outcry over the death of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned trying to reach Greece.
The Solidarity With Refugees group said Saturday’s protest aimed to “show our Government and the world that Britain is ready to welcome more refugees”.
“The UK should be leading the way and working with other states to give refugees safe, legal routes to asylum, ending the trade in people smuggling,” a spokesperson said.
“Since the referendum campaign and vote, divisive rhetoric has been ever more prevalent from a small but vocal minority. In the light of this, the need to come together in a spirit of welcome has become even more acute.”
The march was supported by charities and groups including the Red Cross, Asylum Aid, Save the Children, Hope Not Hate, Oxfam and the UN Refugee Agency.
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, described the Government’s contribution to tackling the refugee crisis as “shocking” but praised local communities and volunteers for “taking matters into their own hands” to support migrants.
“This march is to show that ordinary people in Britain actually care deeply about refugees,” she said.
“Many of those seeking sanctuary have seen their families torn apart and homes destroyed. As one of the richest countries in the world, our government can and must do more to help.”
Mr Rix, the Kaiser Chiefs’s bassist, described the refugee crisis as a “global disaster” while Ms Stevenson called on world leaders to share responsibility, adding: “I hope Theresa May is listening.”
The show of solidarity comes as world leaders prepare for the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.
A UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on Monday will be followed by a separate summit on the issue hosted by Barack Obama the following day.
More than 3,200 refugees and asylum seekers have drowned attempting to reach Europe so far this year, with almost 300,000 completing the journey.
But thousands remain trapped in Greece after being automatically detained under the controversial EU-Turkey deal, under threat of deportation if their asylum applications fail.
Those granted protection face an increasingly difficult task reaching other parts of Europe as countries increase border controls and build fences to stop the flow of migrants.
Oxfam has warned that millions of refugees are being forced to flee from one warzone into another, while a report released this week found that attempted crackdowns in Europe were failing to significantly reduce refugee numbers and instead forcing migrants on hidden and dangerous routes.
In the wake of Alan’s death, David Cameron pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the coming five years but there have been additional calls to re-home those who have already reached Europe, as well as asylum seekers coming from other conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of migrants hoping to travel to Britain remain in the Jungle migrant camp in Calais, where the government is planning to fund a controversial barrier to stop attempts to board lorries.
