On World Refugee Day, Thursday 20 June, we spoke with Prospective MP Tim Barnes.
The conversation about people from overseas coming to the UK is often marked by confusion.
Migrants usually move from one country to another through economic necessity or choice, to find a better life. They might be legal and have a visa or illegal, meaning they have come without any approval.
Migrants form the bulk, by numbers, of those coming to this country.
But refugees are a third group. By definition, they don't have a choice.
They are often fleeing war or a natural disaster. They are not choosing to leave their homes but are forced to do so.
World Refugee Day is an international event organised every year on 20 June by the United Nations, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees.
The UK has a proud tradition of supporting refugees from some of the worst conditions in the world.
The most recent large-scale programme was launched following Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine when hundreds of thousands of people across the country opened their homes to refugees from that war zone who needed a safe place to live.
It is a source of pride to me that this country was so welcoming - at the most personal of levels - to those who needed our help through no fault of their own. To date, nearly 180,000 special visas for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their country have been issued.
Together, we have made a real difference in alleviating the misery of a war that no one in that country wanted.
Refugees rarely want to remain in the places where they have found refuge and often long to return home as soon as it is safe. Sadly, that can take decades, but in the end, most do. After all, they didn't want to be anywhere else, but circumstances beyond their control forced them to move.
Today, in Sudan, the civil war, in which one side is funded by the same Iranian regime that supports Hamas, has led to 2.1 million refugees who have fled the country as well as 12 million who are internally displaced.
This is the greatest human-made disaster in the world today and will push people to become refugees around the world. The lack of media convergence in comparison to other conflicts is an inditement of our collective priorities.
#Iran should face further international action as a result.
We must follow our values to help others where and when we can. We should be active in defence and on the world stage to prevent, wherever possible, the conflicts that lead to such terrible situations.
But when that doesn't work, we should support those who need us most.
I would urge you to support the UNICEF #SudanAppeal if you are able to do so and to learn more about World Refugee Day.
World Refugee Day: Everything you need to know from the Evening Standard
