Sir Stephen Sedley, former Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal, said: ‘As a stable and prosperous country, we can do better than this.’ Clive Coleman, BBC legal affairs correspondent, described it as ‘highly unusual’ for former judges to publicly criticise government policy in such a way.

Safe, legal routes

The signatories are calling for the establishment of safe, legal routes into the EU and for the suspension of the so-called Dublin system, which means asylum seekers must claim asylum in the first EU country in which they arrive.

At the forefront

The government claims to be at the forefront of the response to the crisis, having provided £1bn in aid to Syria and an extra £100m to charities to help those displaced by the conflict, as well as offering to accept 20,000 refugees from camps bordering the war-torn country. Sources: BBC News; Lawyers Refugee Initiative