Last week Barnabas Fund obtained figures that claim that the UN has only recommended “tiny token” numbers of Syrian Christians, Yazidis and other minorities for resettlement in the UK.

The charity said the overwhelming majority of refugees recommended by the UN have been Sunni Muslims who form the majority in Syria. But Christians, and other minorities have been repeatedly targeted for attack by Islamist groups such as IS.

The new statistics, obtained in a Freedom of Information Request to the Home Office by Barnabas Fund, of the religious background of Syrian asylum seekers recommended by the UNHCR for resettlement in the UK revealed:

• In 2015 out of 2,637 refugees there were only 43 Christians, just 13 Yazidis and only one Shia Muslim.
• In 2016 the statistics were even worse. Out of 7,499 refugees there were only 27 Christians, five Yazidis and 13, Shia Muslims.

Christians make up 10 per cent of Syria’s pre-war population and Shia’s make up around 1.5 per cent.

Martin Parsons, Head of Research at Barnabas Fund said: “This is shocking behaviour by both UN and UK officials. In 2005 the UN formally adopted the responsibility of states to protect citizens from genocide and crimes against humanity.

“These statistics show that the UN has itself failed miserably and inexcusably in this respect.

“Christians and other minorities in the Middle East have been treated shamefully by the UN. And the UK government has abjectly outsourced its own responsibilities…

The maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) – known as the crack cocaine of gambling – is to be cut from £100 to between £50 and £2.

The high-stake, high-speed electronic casino games are said to be dangerously addictive and currently allow a stake of up to £100 every 20 seconds, enabling a player to theoretically gamble away £18,000 an hour.

However, the groups including The Salvation Army, The Methodist Church, the Evangelical Alliance UK and  CARE, warned that the range of options presented for a maximum stake for fixed odd betting terminals is too wide.

In a joint statement they said: “Fixed odds betting terminals present serious problems in society and for local communities, families and individuals. 

“Evidence links them to patterns of addictive behaviour, large financial losses and anti-social and criminal behaviour.

“While we welcome the Government’s consultation, anything approaching an upper limit of £50 would not go far enough to reduce the negative impact these machines can have on individuals, families and the wider society.

“Not only is there a major challenge presented by fixed odds betting terminals, there are also wider issues associated with gambling that require serious political commitment to address.”

Ian Geary, The Salvation Army’s Public Affairs Adviser, told Premier he would like the government to view gambling addiction as a public health issue and also have stricter rules on gambling -.

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The event at the Round Church is an initiative of the Christian think tank, the Jubilee Centre, with the aim being to publish a set of 95 ways to change the world.

For the past year, people have been invited to contribute their ideas for original theses. Topics have ranged from economics to the environment to supporting marriage.

More than 100 suggested theses were sent in from around the world and 95 were chosen to be nailed to the church door in the re-enactment of Martin Luther’s action five hundred years ago.

Calum Samuelson from the Jubilee Centre told Premier the aim was to get people thinking about big issues in society and culture that inhibit people from true human flourishing.

He said: “The issues have ranged from things like pornography to the problem of debt to concerns about environmental issues, things surrounding artficial intelligence, robots, really the whole gamut.”

The hope is that society can be taken forward positively as a result of discussions around these new theses.

Listen to Calum Samuelson speaking with Premier’s Paul Hagger here:

Of the 8,136 Syrians given shelter in the UK in 2015-16, 75 were Christians and only 33 Shi’ite Muslims. Sunni Muslims were given the majority of places.

In September 2015-October 2016, only 56 Christians were resettled by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees out of 10,801.

The Barnabus Fund, who help persecuted Christians, said he figures show the Government and the UN are prioritizing other faith groups.

They say Christians made up 10% of Syria’s population but only 1.5% of Syrian refugees resettled in countries such as the US, New Zealand and the UK last year were Christians.

This is despite several national parliaments and the US State department declaring that Christians have been specifically targeted and possibly subject to genocide.