Organisation aimed to help thousands more desperate refugees fleeing persecution

Human rights campaigners have lost a legal bid to force the UK to take more child refugees.

Help Refugees, a charity, contested in the High Court a consultation by the UK government concluding only 480 children could be accepted.

The group said more should be accepted under the Dubs Amendment, which was introduced by Labour peer and former refugee Lord Dubs to help some of the estimated 90,000 unaccompanied migrant children across Europe.

in February this year, the Home Office said it would stop taking children via the scheme from the end of March - and limited the number of unaccompanied children allowed entry to the UK to 350.

Help Refugees argued ministers had failed to consult local authorities properly about how many unaccompanied children could be housed.

But Lord Justice Treacy and Justice Ouseley dismissed the charity's arguments.

Their ruling stated that "having considered the criticisms made as to the requirements for a fair consultation we are not persuaded that the claimant's case is made out".

They ruled the Home Office had to fix a number because swift action was needed.

"We are bitterly disappointed by this result," Josie Naughton, founder of Help Refugees, said, adding that she was proud of the influence the case has had.

"At the time our litigation was issued, not a single child had been transferred to the UK under the Dubs Amendment.

"Transfers began under the pressure of this litigation and under the pressure from campaigners and parliamentarians.

"We've unearthed 130 extra places, which the government eventually admitted it had overlooked.

"These places for children are needed now more than ever. There are young unaccompanied children sleeping rough in Europe completely unprepared for the coming winter."