Helen Grant MP

On July 4 the media reported migrant activity in Calais closing the Channel Tunnel and triggering Operation Stack, again. The people of Kent were understandably frustrated.

We now know the vast majority of some 3,000 displaced people around Calais are actually refugees fleeing death and persecution in Syria. When that fact became apparent last week, public mood quickly, and thankfully, swung toward hope, asylum and refuge. Our government responded, alongside many other countries, with a significant increase in its commitment to taking in refugees. Some critics believe Britain should be taking more, but they are missing a critical point.

More than four million people have fled Syrian borders so far, but only around 250,000 have sought refuge in Europe. The vast majority are in countries neighbouring Syria, around half of whom have been surviving on food provided through the UN World Food Programme (WFP) voucher system.

Since the beginning of this year, however, huge funding shortfalls have forced a reduction in the number of voucher recipients by a massive 700,000. The WFP has also sharply reduced the value of the vouchers to a maximum 14 dollars a month for the remaining 1.4 million people within the programme.

That is a big reason why we are seeing so many more souls seeking food and refuge in Europe and