Refugee crisis: David Cameron says letting people stuck in Calais into UK would 'act as a magnet'

David Cameron has said that allowing allow refugees living in Calais and other camps entrance to the UK would act as a “magnet” for other migrants.

Jeremy Corbyn recently called on Cameron to let 3,000 refugees into the UK after visiting camps in northern France and seeing the “dreadful conditions” for himself.

The Labour leader also said the UK should prioritise granting asylum to refugees with a family link to Britain.

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But Cameron rejected Corbyn’s calls, saying such a move would encourage the expansion of the camps, before claiming Corbyn backs “an entirely open-door migration policy”.

“I think it would be a very bad move to make Calais a magnet for even more people to come by saying there was some sort of direct access from Calais into the UK, as Jeremy Corbyn seems to be saying. That is the wrong approach,” he said.

Cameron argued the UK was already supporting people seeking to claim asylum who had familial links in the UK.

“It is important to understand that under the existing Dublin rules if someone claims asylum in another European country – in France or in Italy or in Germany – and they can prove a direct family connection then they are able under the Dublin regulations to come to Britain. That is a different matter,” he said.

“We talk about children who may be alone in Europe or elsewhere able to make that claim under the Dublin regulations so they can be reunited with their families. That is a different matter and is in the Dublin regulations and of course we support [it].”