UK 'to take 15,000 Syrian refugees'

The British government is poised to accept 15,000 Syrian refugees and hopes next month to get backing for air strikes against Islamic State jihadists, the Sunday Times reported.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been under pressure internationally and domestically to address the refugee crisis.

Cameron now intends to expand Britain's vulnerable persons relocation programme, take in around 15,000 refugees and launch military action against people traffickers, the report said.

He also hopes to persuade MPs in the opposition Labour Party to back air strikes in Syria in a vote early next month, it said. The paper previously reported that there was an option to directly accept refugees from UN camps on the Syrian border.

A mother and her child cross the border line between Greece and Macedonia. Photo: AFP, Reuters

Britain has accepted 216 Syrian refugees under a special government scheme over the past year and around 5,000 Syrians have been granted asylum since the conflict there broke out in 2011 -- far fewer than countries like France, Germany and Sweden.

More than four million Syrians have fled the war.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow thousands of migrants stranded in Hungary to enter Germany caused a rift in her conservative bloc on yesterday when her Bavarian allies accused her of giving "a totally wrong signal" to Europe.

The dispute broke out after Austria and Germany threw open their borders to thousands of exhausted migrants bussed to Hungary's border by a right-wing government overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and loath to take them in.

Germany expects a record influx of 800,000 migrants and refugees this year, by far the most in the European Union. More than 100,000 asylum seekers were registered in August alone.

Migrants are welcomed by locals after their arrival at the main railway station in Frankfurt. Photo: AFP, Reuters

A public opinion poll last week showed Merkel's popularity has dropped over her handling of the refugee crisis, but most Germans are not worried about the influx.

In France, a majority of people are against softening rules to access refugee status, a poll showed yesterday even as thousands poured to the streets to show their solidarity with migrants seeking asylum in Europe.

A women wipes her eyes after her arrival in Dortmund, Germany yesterday. Photo: AFP, Reuters

A poll conducted by Odoxa for Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France daily showed 55 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed were opposed to an easing of rules for migrants asking for refugee status, including Syrians fleeing civil war.