British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to the media. AP file photo
LONDON, United Kingdom鈥擝ritish Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to draw up a plan Friday to help more Syrian refugees amid growing pressure at home and abroad to address the crisis.
Cameron said he had been 鈥渄eeply moved鈥� by images of three-year-old Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, who was found dead on a Turkish beach and said Britain would meet its 鈥渕oral responsibilities.鈥�
READ: New refugee proposals as photos of drowned Syrian boy shock world
British newspapers reported that the outpouring of popular support for accepting more refugees had sent the government scrambling to come up with a response.
The Times and the Telegraph reported that a plan was being drawn up to accept 鈥渢housands鈥� of refugees, with the option of directly accepting refugees from UN camps on the Syrian border under consideration.
鈥淔inal details of the numbers, funding and planned location are being urgently thrashed out in Whitehall,鈥� the Guardian cited government sources as saying.
鈥淐ameron remains convinced that accepting large number of Syrian refugees who are already in Europe will make the crisis worse and encourage more chaos.鈥�
Without making specific commitments, Cameron on Thursday said Britain would keep the number of refugees it accepts 鈥渦nder review鈥� although he added: 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a solution that鈥檚 simply about taking people, it鈥檚 got to be a comprehensive solution.鈥�
鈥淲e do care,鈥� Cameron told reporters.
Britain has accepted 216 Syrian refugees under a special government scheme over the past year and around 5,000 Syrians have been granted asylum since the conflict there broke out in 2011鈥攆ar fewer than countries like France, Germany and Sweden.
More than four million Syrians have fled the war.
Britain has also opted out of a quota system for relocating asylum seekers within the European Union despite growing calls in the EU for fairer distribution.
A petition to parliament urging Britain to accept more refugees has garnered over 325,000 signatures, while campaign group Avaaz said that 2,000 Britons had volunteered to host refugee families.
READ: Pictures of drowned Syrian boy shock world as refugee crisis grows
British newspaper front pages on Friday focused on the story of the little boy, Aylan, pictured dead on a Turkish beach in an image that became a powerful symbol of the refugee crisis.
鈥淔or Aylan鈥� was the headline of The Sun, Britain鈥檚 best-selling newspaper, with the subheading 鈥淗ow you can aid kids like tragic tot.鈥�
鈥淭hey slipped from my hands鈥� was the front page headline of the Daily Mail, which told of how Aylan鈥檚 father had failed to stop his two sons and his wife from drowning.
On the streets of London, views on the issue varied.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe that we haven鈥檛 done anything before now,鈥� said 45-year-old Victoria Buurman as she walked with her shopping in central London.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 disgusting that we have to get to a point where children are dying before we even recognize that we鈥檙e not acting morally. It鈥檚 horrific,鈥� she said, breaking into tears.
But Souvik Ghosh, a 26-year-old research student from India, said Britain should not take any more migrants.
鈥淭here should be some limitations, OK? Because otherwise this country鈥檚 economic system will be overflowed,鈥� he said.
鈥楥ommon humanity鈥�
Contenders for the leadership of the main opposition Labour Party have all urged Cameron to do more.
One of them, Yvette Cooper, has urged Britain to immediately accept 10,000 more Syrian refugees, while bookmakers鈥� favorite Jeremy Corbyn added there was no 鈥渆lectric fence and military solution鈥� to the crisis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a humanitarian crisis and it must be solved by human beings acting in a humanitarian way,鈥� he said.
Several MPs from Cameron鈥檚 own Conservatives also urged the prime minister to do more.
鈥淥ur common humanity demands action at home and abroad,鈥� said Tom Tugendhat, who represents part of the Kent region where many undocumented migrants arrive on ferries or through the Channel Tunnel.
There was also criticism from elsewhere in Europe, with the Council of Europe鈥檚 Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, saying he was 鈥渟eriously concerned鈥� by Cameron鈥檚 position.
鈥淲hile it is true that long-term peace should be brought to Syria and other war-torn countries, it is also true that the UK has a legal and moral obligation to offer shelter to those who flee war and persecution,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he truth is that at the moment the UK is doing much less than other European countries.鈥�
Peter Sutherland, the UN special representative on international migration, told the BBC that while some countries were 鈥渕assively bearing the burden鈥� of the migrant crisis, Britain was among those that 鈥渃an do more.鈥�