HARROWING pictures of a drowned Syrian boy seem to have prompted a head of steam to gather over the UK's response to the migrant crisis, since they were published earlier this week. There are, of course, also legitimate concerns over our country's net migration numbers, which are currently more than 330,000 a year. This, coupled with the fact that a large part of the £12 billion we spend in overseas aid is designed to tackle the problem at source, makes people understandably wary of opening the nation's doors to large numbers of refugees.

However, it is important to separate the issues. On the one hand there is a matter of immigration, on the other that of asylum seeking by those who are in urgent need of help after being displaced by acts of war or violence.

This country has historically extended a welcome to refugees and that is reflected in the Dean of York's offer of sanctuary for those fleeing the conflict in Syria and elsewhere. The Very Reverend Vivienne Faull says this city 'ought to be glad to do that' and is calling on the Prime Minister to change his position.

On purely humanitarian grounds, the Dean's gesture should be encouraged, but there must be reassurances that those who are housed and supported are genuine asylum seekers. This means proper processes should be put in place through the United Nations, to ensure those who seek entry are properly vetted.

That way the people who genuinely need help will be the ones who get it, while those seeking to jump on the bandwagon purely for economic reasons are refused entry.