PM hails £7bn aid boost for Syrians

DAVID Cameron last night hailed a £7billion boost to tackle the Syrian crisis – amid warnings that tens of thousands more refugees are heading to Turkey.

International leaders pledged the huge sum – apparently the largest ever pledged in one day for a humanitarian crisis – dur- ing a meeting in London. The Prime Minister said the aid, including an extra £1.2billion from Britain by 2020, would ‘save lives and give hope’.

Britain’s pledge compares with an extra £1.8billion from Germany by 2018 but is much more than the £700million put forward by France and £600million from the United States. The European Union has pledged £2.3billion.

Mr Cameron said rich nations had now promised £4.1billion to be spent this year, and a further £3.4billion by 2020. Britain has more than doubled its funding to £2.3billion over the next four years.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared: ‘Never has the international community raised so much money on a single day.’

Downing Street said much of the money will be spent on building schools and creating jobs to make it more attractive for refugees fleeing Syria to stay in the region rather than attempting to reach Europe.

Mr Cameron said that the conference had sent out a clear message to the Syrian people.

He said: ‘We will stand with you and we will support you for as long as it takes to secure peace in Syria, and to give Syrian refugees a chance to go back and rebuild their homes. and their country.’