Child refugees in Jungle were failed by Home Office, court rules

HUNDREDS of child refugees who were living in the Calais Jungle may have been unfairly refused access to the UK because the Home Office denied them rights to appeal, a court ruled yesterday.

Judges at the Court of Appeal said children who were refused entry to the UK from the makeshift camp in northern France should have been given fuller reasons for the refusal.

They also criticised the government department for failing to reveal, at an earlier court hearing, that the refusal to give more detailed reasons was because of a “perceived risk” the children could bring legal action.

Yvette Cooper, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, urged the Government to work with campaigners to reunite affected families as she branded it a “shocking denial of children’s rights”.

She said: “This is an important and deeply shocking verdict which shows that the Home Office badly failed vulnerable child and teenage refugees trying to join family here in the UK. Many spent desperate months or years in the Calais camp, many had been abused and exploited and many were waiting for legal processes to be completed.

“Instead, this court case shows the Home Office deliberately gave them no reasons for turning them down to avoid legal challenge.”

Ms Cooper added: “Even though ministers agreed to help many child refugees from Calais, it appears the default setting of the Home Office was still so hostile that it deliberately made it harder for others to appeal or to rejoin relatives.” French authorities announced their intention to clear the camp in October 2016. This led to discussions between Amber Rudd, then home secretary, and French authorities to decide on a procedure for identifying unaccompanied children who had close links with the UK. Of the almost 2,000 children assessed, about 750 were transferred to the UK between October and December 2016.

Citizens UK, the campaigning group, challenged the assessment process at the High Court, but the case against the Home Secretary was dismissed in September last year. However, following a Court of Appeal hearing in June, Lord Justice Singh and two other judges overturned the earlier ruling.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The court agreed that the process operated by the Government was outside of its existing obligations under EU law. However, we note the criticisms contained within the wider ruling and are reviewing these with our legal team.”