IN December last year I was overjoyed to hear that Malvern Hills District Council had agreed to give sanctuary to a handful of Syrian refugees under the Government's vulnerable persons relocation scheme.

At the council meeting on July 14 the public gallery was filled to overflowing with Malvern citizens of all ages and backgrounds, begging the new council to support these refugees.

Councillors were asked to listen to their heart not to their political masters, to examine their conscience and to use their power wisely – a power that could quite literally save lives.

These pleas and the arguments of the minority parties were totally ignored, a dubious report was presented, and a vote to overturn the original offer, clearly decided before the meeting, went through. Just one Tory councillor abstained.

You who voted these people into positions of power should think on: today it is those desperate people of Syria whose suffering is ignored – and perhaps you do not care about them – but tomorrow it may well be you or your loved ones who fall beneath the wheels of the Tory juggernaut.

Heather Matthews

Malvern