Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond has been criticised after helping to defeat a plan in Parliament to take in 3,000 child refugees from across Europe.

The vote took place on the same day that former child refugee Gulwali Passarlay was recounting his horrific and dangerous journey from Afghanistan across Europe and finally into the UK on the back of a lorry as a 12-year-old, to hundreds of people in Wimbledon.

Wimbledon Times:

Gulwali Passarlay, left, and Samuel West, right, at the event in Wimbledon. 

September 2015: Refugees are welcome in Merton - Local people overwhelmed by donations

Hosted by actor and AFC Wimbledon fan Samuel West, the event donated its proceeds to the South London Refugee Association, which struggles with funding.

The event at the Odeon Cinema in Wimbledon was organised by Merton Welcomes Refugees and Wimbledon BookFest to celebrate the publication of Mr Passarlay's book The Lightless Sky.

Wimbledon Times:

Mr Hammond, above, insists the UK is already doing plenty to help child refugees across the world, but MP for Mitcham and Morden, Siobhain McDonagh, has argued that the country has a duty to help the children.

The cross-party amendment to the Immigration Bill, which would have made the UK take in unaccompanied children from refugee camps in Europe, was narrowly defeated by 294 votes to 276 on Monday, April 25.

Mr Hammond said: “People have got themselves into a mess on this and don’t understand fully how much we are doing. We’re already taking children from war torn camps in Syria and Jordan.

“Although it’s very emotive about 3,000 children in Europe, don’t forget these are in all countries that you or I would be happy to go on holiday in. So the idea they’re not in safe places is also nonsense as well."

Mr Hammond added: “The people writing these slightly moralising letters should ask, should we be trying to get children out of war torn camps in Syria, or just take the easy option and take children who are already in safer situations in Europe?

“I’m sure everyone would like to do more, and maybe we can do more in the future, but after the USA we are already the largest donor to refugees.

“It would help more if other countries played their part. We have committed to doing more to help our neighbours cope with refugees, but I think some of our neighbours should be questioning themselves and making sure their children are safe.”

Jackie Schneider, of Merton Welcomes Refugees said: "I would like to say how bitterly disappointed I am to learn that as we were meeting to celebrate a remarkable former child refugee, our MP was voting to block them."

The British Government has said it will take in 3,000 children at risk in the Middle East and North Africa, while the Department for International Development has committed £46 million to help support refugees, including a £10 million fund to focus on children in Europe.

Aid workers are also being sent to European camps to help children with relatives in Britain apply for asylum.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that 95,000 unaccompanied child refugees applied for asylum in Europe last year, while the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency, Europol, estimated in January that 10,000 refugee children had gone missing since arriving in Europe.

Labour MP Ms McDonagh believes the country can do more, and says she supported the vote due to her “sense of history.”

Although Ms McDonagh missed the vote in Parliament while she recovers from a broken hip, she planned to vote in favour of the amendment and used the “pairing system”: joining up with another MP who was planning to vote against the amendment so that both votes were neutralised. 

She said: “I don’t want the next generation to look back on us and say we didn’t help these children when we had a chance.

“I think Britain is doing a great deal in terms of providing aid and helping in refugee camps, but what’s enough? These are children without parents, without families to help them. They need our help.”

She added: “We need to learn from history. Let history be your guide.

“These are difficult things. I know we have problems in terms of our health and education systems that need to be addressed, but these children need our help and we really need to help them as much as we are able to.”

What do you think? Comment below or email letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk.