The Archbishop of Canterbury is ‘saddened and shocked’ by the Government’s decision to take only 350 unaccompanied refugee children. He said last week, ‘We believed that the Government was committed to welcoming up to 3,000 children. To end the scheme now, when such a small proportion have actually entered the country, is regrettable.’ The immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, has stated that after consultation with local authorities, the UK will take just 350 children, including more than 200 already transferred from France. The Labour MP Yvette Cooper described the move as ‘shameful’, while the Conservative MP Helen Whateley said that Kent was already looking after more than a thousand unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. MPs have challenged the Government’s assertion that local authorities cannot take more children, and suggested that other groups (including faith organisations) could help. Archbishop Welby urged the Government to reconsider, saying, ‘We must resist and turn back the worrying trends of seeing the movement of desperate people as more of a threat to identity and security than an opportunity to do our duty. We cannot withdraw from our long and proud history of helping the most vulnerable.’