01:13Belgium: Cameron pledges assault ship but no asylum for stranded migrants
British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to provide the royal navy flagship HMS Bulwark, three helicopters, and two border patrol ships to aid the migrant pick-up operation in the Mediterranean sea, speaking ahead of the emergency EU summit on migration in Brussels on Thursday. However, he stated that Britain would only help under the "right conditions" and would not give migrants immediate recourse to claim asylum in the UK.
The British leader claimed that saving lives would involve "smashing the gangs and stabilising the region", referring to smugglers in northern Africa taking migrants through to Europe. He added that Britain would use its aid budget to "help stabilise neighbouring countries."
EU leaders decided to hold an emergency summit after hundreds of migrants died in the Mediterranean earlier in the week while trying to cross into Europe. More than 10,000 migrants have reportedly been picked up at sea by coastguards between Italy and Libya in just one week. According to the International Organisation for Migration, more than 1,750 migrants have died in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2015, more than 30 times higher than figures for the same period in 2014.
01:13British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to provide the royal navy flagship HMS Bulwark, three helicopters, and two border patrol ships to aid the migrant pick-up operation in the Mediterranean sea, speaking ahead of the emergency EU summit on migration in Brussels on Thursday. However, he stated that Britain would only help under the "right conditions" and would not give migrants immediate recourse to claim asylum in the UK.
The British leader claimed that saving lives would involve "smashing the gangs and stabilising the region", referring to smugglers in northern Africa taking migrants through to Europe. He added that Britain would use its aid budget to "help stabilise neighbouring countries."
EU leaders decided to hold an emergency summit after hundreds of migrants died in the Mediterranean earlier in the week while trying to cross into Europe. More than 10,000 migrants have reportedly been picked up at sea by coastguards between Italy and Libya in just one week. According to the International Organisation for Migration, more than 1,750 migrants have died in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2015, more than 30 times higher than figures for the same period in 2014.