WE HAVE all been deeply moved by the tragic images of the plight of the migrants seeking to flee their own countries and get into Europe. This was most stark with the front page image of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi who drowned after the boat he and his family were on capsized shortly after leaving Kos in Greece. The images are shocking and upsetting.

I believe that it is our moral imperative to accept more genuine refugees into the safety of the UK and last Thursday I wrote to the prime minister to set out that view. “An immediate priority,” I said, was for “the UK to focus on those in the most desperate need; orphans, families with young children, those who need urgent medical attention and those at the greatest risk of persecution if their remain in their own country.”

When we returned to parliament on Monday it was good to hear the prime minister echo many of the sentiments in my letter. I welcome the fact that the UK is to take 20,000 refugees and international aid to Syria is to increase to £1 billion. I will be interested to see if there is even more the UK can do and will be speaking with Ministers about this.

The problem is, however, far more complicated than simply accepting more migrants into the UK and we must clearly distinguish between economic migrants and genuine refugees. What we cannot allow are actions to inadvertently assist Syrian gangs to profit from the misery of their fellow humans, selling them false promises before loading them on to dangerous vessels and sending them, in many cases, to their deaths.

There clearly needs to be a far more comprehensive response from European nations and, to save lives, we must get it right. We cannot do anything which encourages more people to make these perilous journeys – or which makes it easier for the gangs to be responsible for their misery. There needs to be a global long-term solution to these very complicated problems which puts the needs and lives of the Syrian people first. We must not shy away from our role but simply accepting more and more migrants into the UK will not solve the root cause of the problem. An immediate response that exacerbates the situation may be counterproductive and will probably create further problems down the line. That is why it is important the UK is only accepting refugees from camps around Syria rather than those who have already made the trip to mainland Europe.

I am sure that, given the choice, most of these people would rather stay safely in their own country. Globally, we must do more to ensure that those regions are made safe and that we help enough people to remain in their home to enable the rebuilding of these places. If we drain the countries of their young and vibrant populous, we create even more problems for those left behind.

The past ten days have been the first time in my new parliamentary career when I have really felt that the job I have the privilege of doing is not only of local and national significance but also international significance. It was humbling to have felt driven to write to the Prime Minister on such an important and consequential issue and I thank the nearly 400 local residents who have emailed me about this.

If you have any thoughts get in touch with me at michelle.donelan.mp@parliament.uk or 61 New Road, Chippenham, SN15 1ES.