On the eve of the UN summit on refugees, David Miliband has called for the UK to take four times as many refugees as currently planned by the Government.

Mr Miliband, a former foreign secretary and the president of the International Rescue Committee, has called for a greater commitment from richer countries to resettling refugees displaced by war.

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan programme on Sunday, he said current Government proposals equated to taking six refugees per parliamentary constituency.

Image: Migrants are rescued by a Spanish NGO off the Libyan coast

He said: "I think there's quite a lot of scope for Theresa May to come to the UN and to the Obama summit on Tuesday and say look, the UK has a really good record on international overseas aid.

"We're a leader, the UK is a leader, through the Department for International Development on global humanitarian help, but we can also make a greater contribution beyond the six refugees per parliamentary constituency.


"Frankly, the UK should be saying we'll take 20,000 or 25,000 a year, so four times the current level, 25 refugees per parliamentary constituency rather than just six, because countries like Canada are already doing that.

"So I think the UK could do more on the refugee resettlement side to match the frankly exemplary performance that the UK has on international humanitarian aid."

Image: The Government pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020

The Prime Minister has been urged to meet the Government's pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees two years early in 2018 and then to offer more help to those fleeing the war.

Yvette Cooper, Labour's refugee taskforce chair, has said Mrs May should use the UN summit to gain support from international leaders for the creation of safe routes for those fleeing conflict and persecution.

The former cabinet minister urged the PM to resettle 500 lone child refugees before Christmas and to ensure that no child is left alone in the "Jungle" camp in Calais during the festive season.

She said: "The Prime Minister must show leadership on the refugee crisis. She must go to this summit to galvanise international support for refugees and show that Britain can and will meet our commitments."