Fifteen ‘unaccompanied child migrants’ in care on immigration frontline were found to be adults

FIFTEEN “unaccompanied migrant children” in the care of an immigration frontline council were found to be adults.

Last month Kent County Council said it was so overwhelmed by the number of children seeking asylum that it had exhausted its capacity to care for local young people.

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Between January 2022 and June this year, 23 migrants who claimed to be “children” were reassigned.

Of those, 15 were adults, Freedom of Information figures show.

A source said: “Migrants lying about their age has always been a problem, but smugglers are now actively telling them they are under 16 because they will receive better treatment.”

“They have no documents with them when they arrive in the UK and you cannot physically determine a person’s age.

“Some countries use dental examinations, but this is not definitive.

“How old someone looks depends on their growth rate.”

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, said: “Grown men posing as children in our schools and children’s homes are putting children at risk.

“There is an urgent need for action on mandatory age verification of illegal immigrants posing as children.”