A former cabinet minister is fighting to make sure lone child refugees can continue being reunited with extended family members in the UK after Brexit.
Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary, has tabled an amendment to the EU withdrawal bill demanding that UK immigration laws are altered so that children are not stranded overseas when Britain leaves the EU.
She told BuzzFeed News the move would send a powerful message that Britain is not turning its back on the world and would "fulfil our international obligations".
At the moment, Britain is part of the EU's "Dublin III" regulation, which allows children fleeing war and persecution to live with their grandparents, uncles and aunts, and siblings in EU countries.
But UK immigration law only allows refugee children to come and live with their parents, rather than extended family. Critics argue this does not go far enough, because many children in conflicts have been orphaned or do not know where their parents are but may have other family in the UK who can care for them.
Last month the government refused to guarantee that the law would be changed to protect children after Brexit.
Morgan said she had decided to take action after visiting young refugees in Greece earlier this year with Tory MP Tim Loughton, who has tabled the amendment with her.
"Although we're repatriating laws back from the EU to the UK, gaps are still left – this is a classic example of where our regulations don't go far enough," Morgan said.
"And I think it also sends a message, a broader message about the perception potentially created by Brexit that we are a country that is turning our back on the world and we're not going to fulfil our international obligations.
"This amendment will be real proof of whether that is the case and when ministers talk about 'global Britain' [whether] we absolutely will be out there on the international stage – and that includes taking our fair share of those who are fleeing persecution and violence, particularly younger people."
Morgan said families were often so disrupted in conflict zones that it was usually older siblings, aunts, or uncles who were the ones able to offer children shelter in the UK.
"As a parent you want to know should the worst happen to you and your children need shelter, that actually they can go to other family members and that bureaucracy and red tape isn't going to get in the way," she said.
The amendment is likely to be debated in the House of Commons in early November. Morgan suggested that the amendment did not necessarily need to lead to a damaging vote for the government, if they could agree to the move beforehand.
"The intention is not to make life extra difficult for the government, it's to demonstrate the will of the house on this as an important issue," she said. "The mood music we've had back is that ministers completely understand where we're coming from and they want to be able to tackle this."
Lily Caprani, deputy executive director of charity UNICEF UK, said the amendment was a "display of the political will" that allowed hundreds of children to be brought to safety from Calais a year ago.
"The UK must urgently establish a lasting solution for unaccompanied children desperately needing to be reunited with their close family members in the UK," she said.
"Without rules that work, we risk fuelling criminal networks exploiting children making dangerous journeys to find safety. We urge MPs across the political spectrum to add their name to this amendment and uphold the compassion and leadership that the UK has previously shown. Brexit must not lead to our nation doing less for the world’s most vulnerable children."
Robin Walker, a minister for the Department for Exiting the European Union, told the Commons last month that the government's "intention" was to "agree significant cooperation in this space to make sure we can continue to bring families together". But he could not guarantee that reunification would continue as it does now.