The cruel and chaotic asylum system has hit a new low with the revelation that more than 200 teenagers have disappeared
The revelation that 222 children have gone missing from hotels in which they were placed under a scheme for unaccompanied young asylum seekers should shame the government and, above all, the Home Office. The risks to young people who are invisible to the authorities are well-known, and include exploitation by criminal gangs. Even if some of these teenagers find a way to get by in the short term, perhaps with the aid of friends or relatives, they run the risk of being ejected from the UK in future if they disappear underground before their asylum claims are processed.
Ministers have provided information on just over half of the missing children. Thirty-nine have been missing for at least 100 days, and 17 were lost within a day of the Home Office taking responsibility for them. Disgracefully, there is little sign that police or local authorities are even looking for them. The figures were only made public in response to a question from the shadow children’s minister, Helen Hayes. Almost all are boys and many are aged 16 or 17. Some younger children have also gone.
