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The Irish Sun
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Channel migrants who claim to be children given benefit of the doubt despite over HALF turning out to be adults
SMALL boat migrants who claim to be children are being given the benefit of the doubt by immigration staff - despite more than half turning out to actually be adults. A report has found that workers show a 'lack of curiosity' about the real age of asylum seekers arriving across the Channel. Advertisement 2 Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, said: 'Accurately assessing the age of individuals is an incredibly complex and difficult task' Credit: Richard Townshend Photography AI tech is set to be rolled out in 2026 which can accurately assess how old a person really is. Currently, anyone who says they are under 18 are treated as minors unless they look 'significantly' older. In one case highlighted by Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Bolt, an Iranian national who had grey hairs was treated as a child despite assessors thinking he was probably around 22. In 2024, over half - 56 per cent - of the individuals who claimed on arrival to be children were either later assessed to be adults or admitted that they were 18 or over. Advertisement READ MORE ON IMMIGRATION The two-day training given to assessors 'instructs officers that they should always give the benefit of the doubt to the individual where they are not sure about someone's claimed age and do not judge them to be significantly over 18'. The report states that a Vietnamese national was 'initially given the benefit of the doubt' as a child because workers said he had a 'soft face'. Another officer then raised concerns about his age because of his 'developed shoulders', 'huge hands' and a 'tiny bit of stubble'. In other assessments 'arrogance' was used as a sign that a migrant was an adult. Advertisement Most read in The Sun One Iranian national presented with some grey hairs and black stubble on his face and claimed to be 17. Despite being assessed as actually 22 years old, he was 'given the benefit of the doubt' and treated as a child pending further assessment. Man believed to be running meet and greet service arrested in dawn raid as part of Channel crackdown It is acknowledged by the report that it is not always possible to assess the age of a young person through their physical appearance or demeanour, because different life experiences can stunt growth or change behaviours. David Bolt made eight key recommendations to the Home Office on the age assessment process, including reviewing the training given to officers by the end of year. Advertisement In response, the Government accepted all recommendations and pointed out that they are rolling out Facial Age Estimation technology next year pending a trial. It has been trained on millions of images where an individual's age is known. 'In a situation where those involved in the age assessment process are unsure whether an individual is aged over or under 18, or do not accept the age an individual is claiming to be, Facial Age Estimation offers a potentially rapid and simple means to test their judgements against the estimates produced by the technology.' Advertisement A procurement process is currently underway with the new tech set to be integrated into the current system 'over the course of 2026'. 2 More than half of Channel crossing migrants claiming to be children are turning out to be adults (stock picture)
ITV News
07-06-2025
- ITV News
Nine men arrested in Bradford as part of government crackdown on illegal working trade
Over 500 arrests and 600 enforcement visits have been carried out across the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber in a crackdown on the illegal working trade in the UK. Since the 5 July last year, to 31 May, 687 visits resulted in 557 arrests, marking a 14% and 56% rise respectively compared to the year before. The action forms part of a nationwide intensification which has seen illegal working visits increase by 48% and arrests spike by 51% across the UK. In a joint operation in March with West Yorkshire Police, government officers visited the junction of Naples Street and Whetley Lane in Bradford. They were acting on intelligence that illegal workers were being collected daily by vans transporting them to work. Officers intercepted the group waiting at the hotspot to be collected for work in the morning and arrested nine men, including six Afghans, one Nigerian, one Bangladeshi and one Ethiopian. The Home Office say that in many cases, individuals travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK. However, in reality they often end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay and inhumane working hours, with the threat of arrest and removal if they are caught working illegally. The government are now extending Right to Work checks on those hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: 'Illegal working undermines our border security, damages our economy and often leads to the exploitation of vulnerable migrants. 'This activity will no longer be tolerated on our watch and these figures demonstrate this government's determination to disrupt organised immigration criminals at every level.'
