Mr Cameron had agreed to take 3,000 mainly unaccompanied children from camps in the Syrian region but refused to take them from camps in Europe, saying it would act as a magnet.
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Children registered in the three countries before the refugee deal was struck with Turkey in March will be eligible to seek refuge in the UK.
While Mr Cameron said ministers were holding talks with local authorities and the charity Save the Children about what assistance they could offer, he stressed he would not take any steps which would encourage more people to make the unsafe journey across the Mediterranean.
Dubs came to Britain from Czechoslovakia in 1939 aged six fleeing the Nazis as part of a scheme known as the Kindertransport, in which hundreds of Jewish children were rescued.
Mr Cameron said he was not “over-emphasising” the significance of the renegotiation deal, and stressed the referendum was not a judgment on his package, but on the wider issue of whether the United Kingdom should remain in the EU.
But this would likely exclude unaccompanied children who have already made it to Europe.
He added: “It ought to be easier in Europe and at least in Europe we’ve got this directive on foreign national prisoners”.
Dubs revised his amendment to cut specific numbers and, after a surge in public support and a growing rebellion by MPs in the ruling Conservative Party, Cameron conceded that he would “see what more we can do”. “They face being dragged into prostitution criminality and drugs and they need our help”.
Mr Cameron told MPs: “We are going to go round the local authorities and see what more we can do, but let’s stick to the principle that we should not be taking new arrivals from Europe”. He said: “Any extension of family reunification for lone child refugees in Europe that makes it easier for them to safely join their families is welcome”.
The EU’s fragile deal with Turkey to halt migrants was thrown into doubt last night (Wednesday) amid reports that Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, was to be ousted.
Sir William said that elements of the supposedly irreversible agreement could be overturned by court decisions, changes of government in any of the 28 EU states, or the results of referendums elsewhere in the Union.
“However the Government hasn’t said how many children will be helped and hasn’t said whether this will be close to the 3,000 places we originally called for”.
In Germany, for example, almost 6,000 refugee children and minors were reported missing a year ago, the country’s interior ministry reports.
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The Local Government Association, which represents town halls, yesterday encouraged a wide debate, warning that child refugees should not become the responsibility of only a small number of English councils.
