UK: 200 asylum-seeking children reported missing

The British government said around 200 children seeking asylum in the country have been missing from their temporary hotel accommodation. Some of the missing children were also reported to be under 16 years old.

On Tuesday, immigration minister Robert Jenrick appeared before parliament after being summoned by a member of the Green Party to answer questions about the reports of 200 missing children seeking asylum in the country. Jenrick said that out of the 200, 13 of the children were under 16 years old, and one was female. Jenrick said around 88 percent of those missing were from Albania and that the government was meeting its obligations to protect the children.

“The movements of under-18s in and out of hotels are monitored and reported and they’re accompanied by social workers when attending organized activities,” Jenrick told parliament. “We have no power to detain unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in these settings.”

Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas said in her response to Jenrick that the missing children are at risk of being snatched, abducted, and coerced by criminals.

“This is horrific,” said Lucas. “Vulnerable children are being dumped by the Home Office. Scores of them are going missing…we are asking the Home Office to apply some basic safeguarding so we can keep them safe.”

The inquiry comes as the number of migrants claiming asylum in the United Kingdom has doubled in the past two years. Government data showed that Albanians count as the highest number of people arriving in the UK on small boats. Ministers have also come under pressure over poor living conditions for migrants and overcrowding at a facility, facing threats of legal action from rights groups and a union of public sector workers.

On Wednesday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the possibility of reaching a deal between the UK and the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol in April remains to be seen. Varadkar expressed hope that a deal may be reached ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement or before St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.

Varadkar noted that there is no timeline or deadline for both sides to reach an agreement over the post-Brexit trade arrangement.