Two thirds of asylum-seekers who arrived here since 2018 claiming to be unaccompanied children were found to be adults.
This is not true, and is based on a misinterpretation of Home Office statistics. The percentage of people who said they were unaccompanied children while claiming asylum in the UK and were later found to be adults was 20% between January 2018 and March 2022.
Two thirds of asylum-seekers who arrived here since 2018 claiming to be unaccompanied children were found to be adults, with obvious safeguarding risks to real refugee kids.
An editorial published by The Sun claimed that two-thirds of asylum seekers arriving into the UK claiming to be children since 2018 were found to be adults.
This isn’t true and after being contacted by Full Fact, The Sun amended the article and included a correction explaining the inaccuracy.
According to the Home Office statistics, between January 2018 and March 2022 (the most recent figures available), 14,208 people who identified or were identified as unaccompanied children claimed asylum in the UK.
During that period, 4,814 such age dispute cases were resolved. This is where Home Office staff doubt the age of the person claiming to be a child and the claimant doesn’t have reliable documentary evidence to prove their claim.
In total, 2,722 people claiming to be unaccompanied children were actually deemed to be adults—equivalent to 19% of all 14,208 unaccompanied children. (In practice, not all of the age disputes raised or...
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