Britain appoints minister for Syrian refugees: government

Cameron arrives in Beirut to visit a refugee camp to see and hear stories of refugees and what they need

LONDON: Britain on Monday announced it had appointed a minister to deal specifically with the 20,000 Syrian refugees that the country has agreed to resettle from camps bordering the war-torn country.

"The queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Richard Harrington MP as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State jointly at the Home Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Department for International Development," said a statement from the Downing Street office of David Cameron.

Read: UN calls for up to 200,000 refugees to be shared among EU states

An under secretary is the lowest rank of the three tiers of Britain's government.

PHOTO: AFP

The prime minister was on Monday visiting a refugee camp in Lebanon "to see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees and what they need.

"Britain is already the second largest donor to refugee camps to this whole crisis, really helping in a way that many other countries aren't with serious amounts of money," he said.

"We will go on doing that including increasing the amount of money we are giving to educate Syrian children here in Lebanon and elsewhere. I think that's absolutely vital."

PHOTO: AFP

Read: Britain offering 4,000 spaces for Syrian refugees - UNHCR

Cameron announced earlier this month that Britain would take in 20,000 more Syrian refugees, amid growing pressure at home and abroad to address the crisis.

The country has taken in around 5,000 since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.