Charities: ‘Children are being sent to Rwanda’

The Home Office has been accused of attempting to deport unaccompanied minors to Rwanda.

Charities claim there is a “worrying pattern” of asylum seekers who are under the age of 18 being classed as adults by the Government.

The refugee charity Care4Calais is currently engaged in an age dispute with the Home Office over two teenage boys who have been issued with notices of removal.

While the boys say they are 16, the Home Office – after undertaking age assessments – claim they are 23 and 26 respectively.

“It is essential that proper age assessments are done before any deportation takes place,” the charity said in a statement, pledging to use its lawyers to challenge the notices.

“One (of the) 16-yearold (boys) saw his brother killed in front of him when his village was raided in Sudan. He escaped and went back later to find the whole village gone.”

Anti-trafficking charity Love146 UK similarly expressed alarm. Campaigns manager Daniel Sohege told The Guardian the charity is seeing children “as young as 14 being incorrectly ageassessed as 23”.

He added: “The number of children we have seen who have just had 1999 put down as their date of birth when they are clearly under 18 is highly concerning, and putting young people at risk.”

Lauren Starkey, a social worker for the charity, told the newspaper: “It is not within the realm of possibility that anyone, especially someone trained in child protection, could look at the children we have seen and believe they are in their 20s.”

The Home Office was asked for comment over the claims.