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Refugee crisis: Four Syrian refugees welcomed to UK after landmark legal ruling

One of the group urged refugees waiting to enter Britain to see his case as proof there is a way to reach the UK 'legally and safely'

Samuel Osborne
Friday 22 January 2016 06:43 EST
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Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees
Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees (PA)

Four Syrian refugees who had been living in the Calais refugee camp known as "The Jungle" have arrived in the UK after a landmark legal ruling.

They were met at St Pancras by relatives and around 100 people holding home-made banners with the words "Refugees Welcome" written on them.

Others carried signs and balloons saying "Welcome To Britain" and "We Are One".

One of the group urged refugees waiting to enter Britain to "have faith" and see his case as proof there is a way to reach the UK "legally and safely".

Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees
Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees (PA)
Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees
Supporters and well-wishers at St. Pancras International station in London wait to greet the arrival of four Syrian refugees (PA)

The 17-year-old said conditions in "The Jungle" were so bad it was "not fit for humans". "It is just awful," he said.

The four refugees - three teenagers and a 26-year-old man with severe mental health issues - travelled to the UK after a British court ruled on Wednesday they should be immediately brought across the Channel from the makeshift refugee camp in Calais.

Four Syrian refugees who won a landmark legal case to come to Britain from "The Jungle" in Calais, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pose for photographs after being reunited with their families in London
Four Syrian refugees who won a landmark legal case to come to Britain from "The Jungle" in Calais, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pose for photographs after being reunited with their families in London (PA)

The court found they should be allowed to come to live with close relatives, who are already settled in the UK, while their asylum claims are examined.

At least one is expected to join relatives in Scotland.

They had all fled the Syrian civil war and had been living in the camp for at least two months.

Lawyers for the refugees argued the Home Office routinely ignored the right of refugees to be united with family members already in the UK, under a European asylum rule known as the Dublin III regulation.

The landmark case could pave the way for other refugees in the Calais camp to be brought to Britain.

Additional reporting by agencies

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