Britain ‘should open doors to Syria refugees’

Britain should be prepared to open its doors to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper has said.

The shadow home secretary said the failure to offer sanctuary to people trying to escape the “new totalitarianism” of Islamic State (IS) was “immoral” and “cowardly”.

She called on the government to exclude refugees from its target to reduce net migration to below 100,000 a year and suggested that it should be possible to take some 10,000 people seeking asylum.