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LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A group of British celebrities has asked Prime Minister David Cameron to do more to help Syrian refugees in a recently published open letter. Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, comedian Michael Palin, Sting, and Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery are among the entertainers who claimed to be "ashamed" with their country's efforts to help out the struggling nation.
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"Resettling 'several hundred people' just isn't good enough for a global leader. This issue isn't about migration statistics or party politics, it's about people. It's about the values that we in Britain hold dear; compassion and humanity," reads a passage of the letter.
"Your choice is simple, yet historic. You are in a position to offer some of the most vulnerable people in the world safety in Britain. You can offer hope. You can offer a future."
The letter follows UNHCR's petition that nations to increase its resettling offers for Syrian refugees to 100,000 for 2015 and 2016. The crisis in Syria has worsened in recent months with the rising presence of the Islamic State.
Refugee Council CEO Maurice Wren said "the U.K.'s commitment to the relief effort has been laudable but it's not enough."
"The question is, does David Cameron want to go down in history as the prime minister who rationed his compassion to a few hundred people when there was the opportunity to offer safety to so many more?" he added.
Other celebrities who signed the letter include Dame Vivienne Westwood, Vanessa Redgrave, Stephen Frears, Ken Loach, Juliet Stevenson, Grayson Perry, Dan Snow and Bella Freud.
