THE first of 20,000 Syrian refugees to be taken in by the UK have arrived in the country, the Home Office has confirmed.
The Whitehall department has not provided any details of the number or where in the UK they are being resettled.
The Scottish Government said the country will take its 'fair share" of those who have already arrived in the UK
A spokesman added that preparations were "well underway" to deal with the resettlement.
He continued: “Scotland has a strong track record in welcoming those who have been forced to flee their homes due to war or persecution and we stand ready to help as many people as we can in the current crisis.
"Scotland will take in a fair share of those who arrive in the UK looking for refuge. Our preparations are well underway, with the humanitarian task force set up to take forward our practical response due to meet again this week.”
Following private talks with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Monday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said if there were to be arrivals this week, they would likely number in “the tens” rather than the hundreds.
David Cameron, who this evening will hold talks on the refugee crisis with French President Francois Hollande over dinner at Chequers, has made clear the additional intake of asylum-seekers will come from refugee camps in countries neighbouring Syria such as Lebanon and Jordan.
He has made it clear those brought to Britain are the most vulnerable of the four million displaced Syrians living in UN-registered refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan. They would include disabled children and women who had been raped.
News of the first arrivals came as the European Union voted to back a plan to relocate 120,000 refugees in the continent through a quota scheme, which Britain will not take part in.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are working closely with the UNHCR and local authorities to make sure we are ready to welcome more Syrians who desperately need our assistance.
"Today, a number of people have arrived in the UK as part of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme. As the Prime Minister announced earlier this month, we will resettle 20,000 Syrians over the course of this Parliament through this scheme."
On Wednesday, Mr Cameron will join his EU counterparts for a special EU summit in Brussels to discuss the refugee crisis.
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