A group of young asylum seekers and refugees who arrived in Britain as children have urged the government not to close the Dubs scheme to help unaccompanied minors fleeing persecution.

In an open letter published before Theresa May faces her first prime minister’s questions since it emerged that the government is to drop the scheme, the group accuses ministers of putting “the lives of young refugees like us at risk”.

The letter sent by 17 refugees aged between 16 and 22 adds to mounting calls to keep open a scheme intended to help up to 3,000 children after the government decided to limit the number of beneficiaries to just 350.

The young refugees from countries including Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan describes themselves as “the lucky ones” after arriving safely in the UK. They are all now being supported by British Red Cross projects in London, Kent and Glasgow.

One says he spent eight hours in a freezer during his journey to Britain through 11 different countries.

The letter urges the government to maintain “safe, legal routes for young people to find protection”.

The Dubs scheme was put forward in an amendment by the Labour peer Lord Dubs, who was one of 669 children, most of them Jewish, who escaped to Britain from Czechoslovakia in 1939 with the help of a young stockbroker, Nicholas Winton.

Theresa May could face questions from opposition MPs about the closure of the scheme at PMQs later on Wednesday. Even some Tory MPs have vowed to fight the decision to close the scheme.



Earlier this month Dubs himself delivered a petition to Downing Street, signed by almost 50,000, condemning the closure of the scheme.

The letter, drafted with help of the British Red Cross, is aimed at putting across the views of people who would benefit from the Dubs scheme. The identities of the signatories have been protected because they were children at the time of travelling.

The British Red Cross quoted one, an 18-year-old from Iran, as saying: “I came by lorry to the UK through Calais. This route is really dangerous, not just for children and minors but also for families and adults. They should make it easier for children to come safely to the UK. I saw so many people die, this is a deadly journey.”

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: “We encourage the government to take notice of what these young people are saying – that opening up more safe, legal routes to the UK, such as the Dubs scheme, will spare others from having to take the same risks that they had to in search of protection.”

The full text of the letter says:

