The UK has rescued a British child from Syria as part of efforts to return unaccompanied minors stranded amid the fallout of the Islamic State conflict.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said repatriating the child was “the right thing to do”.

He said each case of orphans or unaccompanied children trapped in Syria was assessed “carefully”.

Save the Children said last year more than 60 British children were in Syrian refugee camps, many aged under five.

The mission was first reported by Sky News, which said a repatriation team left the Middle Eastern country with the child on Tuesday.

Mr Raab said on Twitter: “Pleased we have been able to bring home a British child from Syria. As I have said previously, we assess each case carefully. Safely facilitating the return of orphans or unaccompanied British children, where possible, is the right thing to do.”

Can orphans trapped in Syria get home to the UK?
Save the Children has said that many of the children who fled areas controlled by IS have endured “dire conditions” in camps and have sometimes been repeatedly displaced as fighting escalated across the country.

The charity said older children who have lived under IS rule have witnessed “appalling acts of brutality” and been left physically and psychologically injured by years of conflict.