Call for inquiry into child asylum seekers

Charities and campaigners are urging ministers to set up an inquiry into the treatment of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK.

The call comes after an official report said basic checks to keep children safe in asylum hotels were not carried out.

In an open letter, the groups highlight the "appalling revelation" some children were asked to play a game to guess who would be in foster care next.

The Home Office said the welfare of the children was an "utmost priority".

It said a full investigation has been launched into the "inappropriate behaviour" of the worker behind the "game", who was removed from his post immediately after the incident came to light.

The report said one team leader would disclose to the children who would be the next to leave for a placement by "making a game of it". They would ask them to guess who would be next, before revealing their name.

The report said inspectors considered the practice "insensitive in the extreme and undoubtedly upsetting to the children,", adding that while there was no evidence to suggest it was adopted more widely it had not been challenged internally.

The report, which should have been published by the beginning of January, was among 13 finally made public last week, shortly after Mr Neal was sacked by the home secretary. He left his role after details of his findings in a separate report into airport borders appeared in newspapers.

The open letter is signed by 18 organisations, including the Refugee Council and the British Association of Social Workers, and calls for a wide-ranging independent inquiry into the treatment of people age 17 and younger who are seeking asylum.

At one point seven hotels were contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodation for the children on a temporary basis while placements with local authorities were found.

The Home Office says it no longer uses the hotels.

But the charities and campaigners describe the inspector's report findings as "disturbing… distressing and dystopian".

Hundreds of unaccompanied children missing from hotels still have not been found, the letter says, and wrongly age-assessed children had been sharing bedrooms with adult strangers.

It adds: "In our work with refugee children, we repeatedly see how they are being failed... There is a culture of callous disregard for children's basic right to dignity."

The organisations add: "We urgently need to see a fundamental change towards an asylum system that is fair, humane and protects those who are some of the most vulnerable children in the country."

The report was based on inspections of two hotels in Kent in September 2023.

It said: "Inspectors found that two years on from when the Home Office first moved children into hotels, it was still grappling with the challenges of managing an operation that was only ever envisaged to provide a short-term solution."