Britain to meet its moral responsibilities, Cameron says

David Cameron said Britain had a "moral responsibility" to provide help to the refugee escaping stranded war zones, after the picture of a dead Syrian kid washed up ashore sparked shock and indignation across Europe.

The British Prime Minister said he felt “deeply moved” by the picture and added that Britain will honour its commitments.

“That’s why I sent the Royal Navy to the Mediterranean and saved thousands of lives, “ Cameron said, referring to the UK's Royal Navy's HMS Bulwark that was sent in May to join the EU's Operation Triton carrying out search-and-rescue missions for migrants lost in the Mediterranean.

Read more: UK's migrant rescue operation delayed

Britain's PM also pointed out that the UK was meeting its commitment of spending 0.7% of its economy on aid for developing countries.

"There isn’t a solution to this problem that is simply about taking people"

“But, as I also said yesterday, there isn’t a solution to this problem that is simply about taking people," he said, blaming on Syria's President Assad and “the butchers” of Islamic State for the current crisis,

"We need a comprehensive solution; a new government in Libya, we need to deal with the problems in Syria.”

Cameron's statement came after Council of Europe criticised Britain's position towards the migration crisis, stressing the UK should offer asylum to more refugees from the Middle East.

Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muinieks said Britain was “doing much less than other European countries”.

"Additional tragedies and shocking pictures could be avoided

“Additional tragedies and shocking pictures could be avoided if political leaders had the courage and determination to uphold human rights standards and common European values," he added.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, joined those calling for the country to take more refugees while adding that the country had a “moral responsability”.

Johnson also suggested he would back military intervention in Syria.

Since 2012, the UK has allocated £900m to meet teh needs of people in Syria and refugees in the region in its biggest humanitarian effort ever. Most of it has gone to multilateral partners such as the United Nations agencies as well as to Syria's neighbouring countries, where refugees are being hosted.

From February 2012 to March 2015, the UK's aid has provided 13m food rations to Syrians and supported the education of around 225,000 children, according to the Department for International Development.

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