UK does more than rest of EU put together

FROM posturing politicians in Germany and Austria to, at home, Labour leadership contenders vying for public attention, the Government was under withering attack yesterday for not taking its ‘fair share’ of Syrian refugees.

But, in their rush to play this unedifying numbers game, David Cameron’s critics overlook one ineluctable fact: Britain is providing more aid to Syrians in crisis than most other countries in Europe combined.

Indeed, our contribution to the humanitarian effort in camps in Syria and neighbouring countries (where they are kept safe, without having to make perilous journeys to Europe) stands at £922million – behind only the US. This is £300million greater than any other country in the EU, with Germany (£622m) next on the list. Next come Norway (£170m), Holland (£126m), Switzerland (£112m), Sweden (£106m), Denmark (£92.5m), France (£69m), Italy (£63m) and Belgium (£31.5m).

Earlier this week, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann made a blistering attack on Britain’s lack of ‘solidarity’. Yet, for all his posturing, Austria does not even feature in the list of the top 20 contributors of overseas aid to the UN’s Syria appeal – giving £8.8m, or less than a 100th of our donation.

There has been much legitimate criticism of Mr Cameron’s decision to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid – way more than Germany, for instance, which commits only 0.4 per cent.

But, for all the millions wasted elsewhere, it is making a difference in Syria, of which ministers can be rightly proud.

To date, it has funded 18million meals, almost 2.5million medical consultations, given shelter to 400,000 people and education to 250,000 children. It is a record which, to use their own emotive language, puts our European neighbours to shame.

It’s also worth re-emphasising that many of the criticisms of the UK Government are at best misleading or, at worst, a lie.

Yesterday, ministers were attacked on Twitter for taking ‘only’ 216 Syrian refugees. Yet this figure relates only to the ‘vulnerable persons relocation scheme’, under which victims of rape, torture, the elderly and disabled are identified in Syrian camps, given humanitarian protection and transported to the UK. Since 2011, a further 5,000 Syrians have been given asylum after making an application in Britain. Syrians already here whose visas have expired have also been permitted to stay.