CALLS are being made to reunite members of refugee families.

Stretford and Urmston MP Kate Green is backing a Private Members Bill which could transform lives by uniting families fleeing from war-torn countries and escaping persecution.

Ms Green met with members of the Families Together campaign and heard that refugees and their families continue to be remain apart from their loved ones because of current restrictive UK laws on refugee family reunion.

The rules mean that some people with family members in the UK — including children, who have turned 18 and elderly parents — often find themselves facing an impossible choice: remain in what can often be an insecure and dangerous place, or embark on a treacherous, expensive, unregulated journey, often in the hands of smugglers.

The rules further prevent child refugees in this country from sponsoring even their closest family members to join them, making the UK one of only two EU countries to deny refugee children the chance to grow up with their family.

The Refugee (Families Reunion) Bill debate tomorrow has the power to change this.

If the Bill passes its second reading, it would bring the UK one step closer to uniting refugee families.

Ms Green said: “Refugees should have the right to be with their family, the people that know them best and make them feel safe. But tragically, every single day refugee families already torn apart by conflict and war are being kept apart by restrictive UK rules.

“This urgently needs to change. I will be attending the Private Member’s Bill vote and voting to bring refugee families together again.”