Children Wrongly Classified as Adults in UK Asylum System

[Social Media]

 

A recent report has revealed that the Home Office misclassified hundreds of child asylum seekers as adults last year, resulting in them being housed in hotels and detention centers alongside adults. The report comes amid a surge in small boat crossings, with 592 migrants arriving on Sunday alone—the highest daily total so far this year. The overall number of small boat arrivals in 2024 has now reached 2,255, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year.

 

Approximately one in six migrants crossing the Channel are unaccompanied children. Disturbing new evidence from French authorities suggests that people smugglers are launching dinghies from as far south as Dieppe, Normandy—80 miles from Calais—illustrating the increasingly dangerous routes migrants are taking to reach the UK.

 

A coalition of more than 100 organizations, known as the Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium, conducted the study and found that more than half of asylum age assessments last year incorrectly classified individuals as adults. Data from 63 local authorities in England and Scotland revealed 603 cases where agencies suspected young migrants had been wrongly placed in adult accommodations or detention centers following Home Office age assessments. These assessments have faced criticism for relying too heavily on an individual’s physical appearance rather than a thorough evaluation of their age.

 

Of the 493 cases where a determination was reached, 262 individuals were ultimately found to be children. The remaining cases involved individuals assessed as adults, those challenging their classification, or those who had been relocated to a different local authority, requiring a reassessment. In some cases, the outcomes remained unclear due to ongoing assessments or a lack of recorded data.

 

The report highlighted serious risks faced by misclassified children, with some as young as 14 being housed alongside adults in hotels. This left them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, with incidents of violence and sexual assault reported in several hotels where misidentified minors were placed.

Additionally, the report revealed that some children were wrongly convicted of crimes related to illegal entry into the UK due to being classified as adults. Under-18s are exempt from these offenses, yet between June 2022 and September 2024, 510 people who arrived via small boats were charged with illegal entry. This included 26 cases where children wrongly identified as adults faced criminal charges, and at least 16 children were detained in adult prisons, exposing them to significant risk.

 

Many asylum seekers lack documentation to verify their age, making assessments challenging. The report found that Home Office caseworkers and Border Force officers increasingly conducted age assessments instead of local authorities, despite local authorities using more thorough Merton-compliant assessments. These evaluations involve in-depth background research and analysis, differing significantly from the rapid initial assessments conducted at the border.

 

The previous government had changed the law to introduce scientific methods for age verification, including MRI scans of knees and collar bones, as well as X-rays of wisdom teeth, wrists, and hands. However, the current government has not yet implemented these measures and has not confirmed whether they intend to do so.

 

The report stressed that unaccompanied children often arrive in the UK after experiencing severe trauma, having fled war, violence, and persecution, only to be subjected to further distress by being misclassified. Children who are not believed about their age face a lack of support, are deprived of education, and miss out on the protections afforded to minors.

 

Adil, one of the children wrongly classified as an adult, shared his experience: "When I told them I was 16 years old, they didn’t accept my age. They said no, you haven’t got any evidence. I was in a very critical situation; we had been through many problems. They said you have to show me your evidence. I said I hadn’t got anything, but I can get it if you give me some time. But they put me straight away into a hotel. I went there and spoke with the manager. I said the age which the Home Office has chosen for me is not mine. The place where I was living, the people were all adults. That situation can put me in trouble.”

 

He continued, "I was waiting for two months. After that, they sent some social workers. There were many people in the same situation. When the social worker came, I spoke with them. I said it’s not my real age. In our country, it’s a war-afflicted country, it’s not the same as in the UK. We look different. It’s all about the situation, it doesn’t mean we are 24 or 25. They asked me many questions, then they accepted my age and put me with young people. Many people are facing this, and I want to avoid this happening to other young people.”

 

Meanwhile, court documents revealed that France has agreed to take back two children, aged six and nine, who were separated from their parents during a small boat crossing last July. The parents attempted to use the European Convention on Human Rights to secure their own transfer to the UK, but a High Court judge ruled that the children should instead be reunited with their parents in France. This marks the first known case of such an agreement since Brexit, which ended EU family reunion provisions in 2020.

 

A Home Office spokesperson defended the agency’s approach, stating, "We will never compromise on border security. We have robust processes in place to verify and assess an individual’s age where there is doubt and where there is no documentary evidence, including the National Age Assessment Board, of a team of trained social workers whose task is to conduct full age assessments. We continue to review all options to improve age assessment."

 

The findings of the report have raised serious concerns about the treatment of child asylum seekers in the UK and have called into question the accuracy of the Home Office’s assessment procedures.

 

Based on a report by The Times  2025-03-05

 

 

[Thingamabob]

Usually it's the other way round with adults being classdified as children, some of whom are 6 ft tall with beards.

[mikeymike100]

So they lie, right off the bat?....

"A Home Office spokesperson defended the agency’s approach, stating, "We will never compromise on border security"

[JonnyF]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

The report stressed that unaccompanied children often arrive in the UK after experiencing severe trauma, having fled war, violence, and persecution

 

What, in France?

 

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

But they put me straight away into a hotel.

 

Sounds absolutely awful. Please tell me it was at least 4 star. 

 

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

I went there and spoke with the manager.

 

Quite right too. This simply isn't on. I hope you stuck it to the man, Karen.

 

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

We look different. It’s all about the situation, it doesn’t mean we are 24 or 25. They asked me many questions, then they accepted my age and put me with young people. 

 

Not too young, I hope. Given that you are 16 and look 24/25. 

[Purdey]

There are sh-thole countries that try children as adults and give them life sentences. Been going on for years.