Only 1 in 5 ‘child’ migrants deported for lying about age
Huge rise in lone children arriving in UK
ONLY one in five lone child migrants caught lying about their age in a bid to stay in the UK is deported, damning figures have revealed.
More than 2,500 of the 13,000 unaccompanied child asylum seekers who have come to Britain since 2010 have been found to be over 18. But fewer than 600 have been returned home.
The figures emerged as the Daily Mail found that councils are paying £305million a year to look after child migrants who come to the country without parents or carers.
The number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASCs) cared for by councils has more than doubled in four years – rising from 1,950 in 2013 to at least 4,560 at the end of March.
Figures obtained using Freedom of Information laws showed that 13,641 applications for sanctuary from lone child migrants were made between 2010 and 2016.
Home Office data shows that 2,644 were found to be over 18 when their age was disputed – but only 580 were either removed or voluntarily went home, a rate of 21.9 per cent.
Latest available figures show that in the year to September, 457 of the 695 so-called ‘child’ migrants challenged by officials turned out to be adults.
A row flared in October 2016 amid mounting concern that adult refugees were lying about their ages to gain entry to Britain.
Suspiciously mature-looking child migrants were among those arriving from the ‘Jungle’ shanty-town in Calais. Officials insisted all the migrants were under 18 but some looked years older.
Tory MP David Davies said: ‘These figures are not giving the whole picture. But they do point to an increasing problem of wholesale abuse of the asylum system by people who simply want to come here because they know they will be treated sympathetically.’
Tony Smith, former directorgeneral of UK Border Force, said: ‘This is a good indicator of illegal entry into the UK.’
If individuals are caught trying to cheat the system, there is nothing to stop them applying for asylum as an adult once they are in Britain.
If a child claims asylum in the UK, they become the legal responsibility of the council where they are discovered.
One in 16 children being looked after by councils are now unaccompanied asylum seekers, compared to one in 33 in 2013.
Council chiefs say the arrivals have implications for the taxpayer because councils are responsible for all costs associated with child asylum seekers until they are 25.
A survey by the Mail found that almost every English council is caring for UASCs. Those with the greatest number are in Kent or Croydon or those crossed by major roads, where children escape from the back of lorries at service stations.
David Simmonds, of the Local Government Association, said: ‘No one is disputing these children need to be cared for.
‘The UK does a good job by these young people, take them in, find them accommodation... they do quite well, they go on to university... but councils quite simply cannot afford it. It could lead to services being cut back elsewhere.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We take our responsibility in asylum cases involving children very seriously and we are very clear that we will not tolerate abuse of the system, especially from adults claiming to be children.’
Comment – Page 14
‘Good indicator of illegal entry’