Report: Unaccompanied migrant children being sent to UK jail housing sex offenders

Migrant children who have entered Britain via small boats are being placed within an adult prison that also accommodates a significant number of sex offenders, according to a report by The Guardian.

The investigation revealed that instances of such unaccompanied children, many of whom are victims of human trafficking, are being sent to HMP Elmley Prison in Kent, which also houses foreign adult inmates. Notably, the most recent inspection of this prison, where foreign nationals are incarcerated, also includes sex offenders among its inmates.

A group called Humans For Rights Network has identified 14 cases thus far of unaccompanied children being placed in an adult prison. One of these children reportedly spent several months at Elmley when they were only 14 years old.

The majority of these cases involve children from Sudan or South Sudan who have made their way to the UK via Libya. Many of these children have experienced trafficking or exploitation, as per the organization’s findings.

Maddie Harris from the Human Rights Network emphasized that sending children to adult prisons is particularly detrimental. She noted that these children face confinement in cells, struggle to access legal counsel, and cannot challenge the arbitrary age determinations made by immigration officials upon their arrival in the UK. Instead of finding a secure environment, these children seeking safety are subjected to adult prison conditions, which places them at significant risk.

Anita Hurrell, the head of the migrant children’s project at the children’s charity Coram, criticized the practice, stating that it’s both wrong and hazardous to treat these children as criminals and send them to adult male prisons.

The Observer’s data indicates that a considerable number of asylum-seeking children are inaccurately classified as adults by Home Office officials, as these children undergo age assessments upon their arrival in the UK. Syd Bolton from Equal Justice For Migrant Children referred to age assessment as a problematic tool utilized by the Home Office to hinder access to asylum protection and children’s services, discrediting the claims of young asylum seekers in the process.