Asylum-seeking children in UK

Date: 10th January 2017
Category: Refugee , migrant and asylum-seeking children

A group of 36 teenage asylum seekers, who previously lived in the Calais refugee camps and currently reside in French reception centres, have taken legal action against the government of the UK.

The children, 28 of whom have had their applications refused, have accused the home secretary, Amber Rudd, of acting unlawfully in dealing with their applications and reneging on the government's commitment to welcome vulnerable unaccompanied child refugees under section 67 of the Immigration Act, known as the Dubs amendment. In the first legal action taken by children from the infamous camp against the UK government, the judicial review focuses in particular on the case of a boy from Afghanistan who travelled through eight countries to reach France after being shot in the neck by the Taliban. Lawyers for the 14-year-old raised concerns about the boy's condition twice last year, after he tried to kill himself four times in Calais, but received no response. In its initial response to the legal challenge, the Home Office said they could not prioritise children with legal representatives, pointing out that the child should complain about his treatment by the French authorities in French courts.

• Read more about this issue in The Guardian article.