THE Newport-based leader of the Wales Green Party has written an open letter to David Cameron about the “refugee crisis” facing Britain.

Pippa Bartolotti said in her letter to the Prime mMinister: “This is not a migrant crisis, this is a refugee crisis.

“You withdrew British support from the rescue efforts in the Mediterranean last year. Your message seemed to be “Let the refugees drown – it will discourage the others.” What a dereliction of moral authority.

“Our country is a safe and secure place for those fleeing war. Many of these conflicts were started or exacerbated by rich western countries. If we can’t accept the consequences of our actions, we shouldn’t have taken the action in the first place. In this case, the consequences of wars we have either started, fuelled or contributed to are more than a million refugees and the harrowing sight of innocent little bodies being washed up on the shores of the Mediterranean.

“We should take our share of these refugees in with open arms. All of them. Instead you order more razor wire to keep them out.

“Whatever it takes, the Wales Green Party stands ready to support refugees in crisis.”

Britain continues to play a vital role in the Mediterranean and I want to thank HMS Enterprise for this latest life-saving mission.

Minister for the Armed Forces Penny Mordaunt said last week following a British Royal Navy vessel contributing to the rescue of around 4,400 people from ships in the Mediterranean: “We remain clear that the best and only way to tackle the migrant crisis in Europe is to go after the source of the problem. The international community must do all it can to go after the criminal gangs and people smugglers who trade so carelessly with the lives of others.”