Jesuit Refugee Service UK and Humans for Rights Network say at least 141 age-disputed young people have been detained
A joint briefing published this week by the Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK) and Humans for Rights Network (HFRN) has raised concerns over what the organisations describe as a growing pattern of unaccompanied children being wrongly identified as adults and detained under the UK-France 'one in, one out' asylum arrangement.
Image credit: WikipediaYou can download the 12-page report here.
The report examines the operation of the scheme since its introduction in August 2025 and argues that failures in screening and safeguarding and problems accessing legal advice have resulted in children being held in immigration detention centres and, in some cases, removed to France.
Although unaccompanied children are formally excluded from the scheme and Government policy limits their detention to a maximum of 24 hours, the organisations say at least 141 age-disputed young people have been detained since the policy began. At least 64 of those detained were later recognised as children by local authorities or placed into their care pending further inquiries, and at least 18 were removed to France. The report notes that these figures are likely to underestimate the scale of the issue.
When young people are returned to France, JRS UK and HFRN often lose contact with them, raising concerns that they may become vulnerable to exploitation or destitution. "Of those we have maintained contact with, we are aware that many face destitution," the organisations said.
JRS UK and HFRN describe the detention of children as taking place within a wider system marked by "systematic failures in screening and safeguarding", exacerbated by the speed of processing and the difficulties detainees face in obtaining legal representation.
The report notes that asylum screening interviews often take place on the same day as arrival in the UK, frequently late at night when people are exhausted and traumatised after crossing the Channel in small boats. Interpretation during interviews is often poor and young people may struggle to explain their age accurately because of language barriers or confusion over different calendar systems. In one example cited in the report, an Eritrean child was unable to convert his date of birth from the Eritrean calendar and was subsequently recorded as being over the age of 18.
JRK UK and HFRN further note that when young people say that they are under 18 during initial screenings, they are often disbelieved by Home Office officials and recorded as adults without referral to a local authority for an age assessment. The report says there has been "no material change" in Home Office practice despite what the organisations describe as a "clear and increasing pattern" of children being detained.
The briefing explains: "Children seeking asylum being misidentified and treated as adults, and detained, is a longstanding and egregious problem that puts children at risk. It is rooted largely in a culture of disbelief and poor age assessment practices. Since the scheme began, HFRN and JRS UK have noticed a very significant increase in the number of age disputed children detained. Exact figures are difficult to determine because the issue is by its nature often hidden and inconsistently recorded when it comes to light."
The organisations criticise proposals to use artificial intelligence and "scientific" methods of age estimation, arguing that these approaches risk compounding racial bias and are not supported by evidence.
Much of the briefing focuses on the difficulties children face once they are detained. Age-disputed children often remain in detention for weeks or months while awaiting local authority assessments. They also experience "extreme difficulty" obtaining legal advice in detention", with the briefing noting: "Very often, age-disputed young people removed have either been unable to access legal advice, and therefore challenge flawed Local Authority and Home Office age assessments, or were so deeply distressed by detention that they were unable to pursue a challenge; the fact they were removed does not suggest that they were, after all, adults."
Initial legal consultations are said to take place almost entirely by telephone, making it difficult for lawyers to identify when they are speaking to a child. The report also states that many detainees are unable to secure representation because legal providers lack capacity. In cases where a lawyer is obtained, the quality of representation can be poor.
Among the examples included in the report is the case of a young person referred to as Eden, who contacted HFRN while detained in an immigration removal centre and facing imminent removal to France. The report states that Eden had been unable to access substantive assistance during approximately a month in detention and had only disclosed his age shortly before contacting the organisation. According to the briefing, Eden also reported having been detained and tortured in Libya and exploited elsewhere in Europe. Following an urgent referral by the organisation, a local authority assessed him as a child and accommodated him in care.
Another case cited is that of Dawit, who reportedly informed the Home Office that he was under 18 shortly after detention and later obtained an identity document showing his age. The report alleges that the document was not adequately considered and that he remained at risk of removal, having received insufficient initial legal advice. After further legal intervention and referral to another local authority, his age was accepted without the need for a formal assessment.
JRS UK and HFRN call for immediate reforms while the 'one in, one out' scheme remains in operation. Among its recommendations are that any young person claiming to be under 18 should not be detained except in exceptional circumstances, that all age assessments should be led by local authorities and conducted in the community rather than in detention, and that local authorities should be notified whenever a person claiming to be a child is treated as an adult. The organisations also call for the immediate release of all age-disputed young people from detention into safe accommodation while assessments are carried out.