Wikimedia/Mstyslav Chernov, CC4.0
In January last year, there was a minor kerfuffle about Syrian refugees. It largely took place within the environmental movement and, at the time, a few of us got hot under the collar about it. Reasonably enough, most people didn't notice. It feels now, though, it's time to start asking again the questions which some of us were posing then.
Specifically, the questions relate to a charity you may well not have heard of called Population Matters - formerly the Optimum Population Trust. In late 2013 and early 2014, it published on its website stories arguing that the UK should accept no refugees from Syria. Britain, they believe, is full. Neighbouring Arab states ought to deal with the problem (never mind that if any country in the world is approaching “full”, it's Lebanon – and they haven't let that stop them accepting their fleeing neighbours).
