§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many refugees from Kosovo they are willing to admit to the United Kingdom during the NATO bombing campaign. [HL2314]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe Government's priority, along with that of our European partners, remains to ensure that, as far as possible, Kosovan refugees are cared for within the region so that they can return home when it is safe for them to do so which is the refugees' overwhelming wish. We have also long made it clear that the United Kingdom stands ready to receive some thousands of refugees from the region on humanitarian grounds and on the basis of criteria agreed with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
No upper limit has been set on the number of refugees that we will take.
§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are willing to admit as many refugees from Kosovo during the allied bombing campaign as are admitted by the Federal Republic of Germany; and if not, why they are unwilling to do so. [HL2315]
§ Lord Williams of MostynNo upper limit has been set on the number of refugees that we will take. The Government have recently announced that we will be building up to taking around 1,000 refugees a week in the next few weeks.