Douglas Alexander, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, speaking ahead of today’s EU Council, said:

“The Prime Minister’s decision to commit additional resources to Operation Triton is an important but overdue step. Despite this boost to the mission, it appears to still fall well short of the thorough search and rescue operation which experts say is required to cope with this appalling crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea.

“David Cameron and his Ministers have spent months arguing for the EU to scale back its mission, denying warnings that doing so could risk the lives of people who were fleeing violence and bloodshed across the Middle East and Africa. So his admission today that the UK has a responsibility to act alongside our EU allies is certainly a change of heart.

“Whilst the EU’s ten-point plan to tackle the crisis should receive the UK’s backing, the scale of the challenge remains enormous. The truth is that since Operation Triton was established, more people have attempted to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, and many more have died trying. The number has increased more than 30-fold since this time last year.

“Britain cannot turn a blind eye to our obligations, alongside our EU partners, to tackle this human tragedy in our backyard. All EU leaders must now work together to ensure the revised mission has the equipment, resources and remit to help save lives.”