Channel migrants: 116 children missing from UK hotels

More than 100 unaccompanied kid migrants stay missing aft disappearing from UK hotels implicit a 14-month period, information reveals.

BBC News has discovered that 116 children disappeared betwixt July 2021 and August 2022, aft temporarily being enactment successful hotels by the Home Office.

Charities fearfulness the children, immoderate arsenic young arsenic 11, hazard being exploited.

The Home Office said it had "no alternative" but to usage hotels portion semipermanent accommodation was found.

The authorities has been placing children who get successful the UK successful approved hotels since July past year, aft section councils said determination was not capable capableness to location them successful suitable accommodation.

Some 1,606 children who arrived unsocial betwixt July 2021 and June 2022 were placed successful edifice accommodation by the Home Office, according to its ain figures.

BBC Two's Newsnight discovered that 181 children - aged 18 oregon little - subsequently went missing successful the 14-month play covered by the data, which was released by the Home Office pursuing Freedom of Information requests. But 65 were aboriginal found.

The foundation ECPAT UK said the fig of missing children was "shocking" and called connected the authorities to halt placing them successful hotels.

"They could beryllium moving distant successful a cannabis farm, successful a factory, home servitude. There's a full scope of exploitative situations that these young radical could beryllium in," said its main executive, Patricia Durr. "They could beryllium being criminally exploited oregon sexually exploited down closed doors."

Rishan Tsega, who was arrived successful the UK from Sudan connected the backmost of a lorry aged 17 and has since been granted asylum., says she fears immoderate of those missing children could extremity up successful the hands of the traffickers who brought them into the country.

"They [traffickers] similar to manipulate young radical and marque them bash things erstwhile they get here. I wouldn't uncertainty that. This is thing new," she said.

"They mightiness accidental if you spell to this spot you person to wage america back, different I volition termination your mum, oregon your family. How are you going to respond?" she added.

The Home Office said it was seeing an "unprecedented emergence successful unsafe Channel crossings".

It said: "On average, unaccompanied children seeking asylum are moved to semipermanent attraction wrong 15 days of arriving successful a hotel, but we cognize much needs to beryllium done.

"That is wherefore we are moving intimately with section authorities to summation the fig of placements disposable and connection councils £6,000 for each kid they tin supply accommodation for.

"Any kid going missing is highly serious, and we enactment astir the timepiece with the constabulary and section authorities to urgently find them and guarantee they are safe."

The Local Government Association, which represents councils, says it is "working tirelessly to find suitable placements for unaccompanied children, with 597 placements made successful the past six months".

While it said placements were increasing, it besides called connected the Home Office to halt utilizing hotels. "Councils person expressed concerns to the authorities astir the impacts connected children, including the risks astir children going missing," it added.

In July, the Home Affairs Select Committee reported that the disappearance of separated migrant children from hotels was "extremely concerning".

It said the authorities indispensable "immediately and intelligibly corroborate wherever work lies for each facet of safeguarding children housed successful accommodation".