{"id":969003,"date":"2023-01-25T15:22:28","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T15:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1644090"},"modified":"2023-01-25T15:22:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T15:22:28","slug":"hundreds-of-asylum-seeking-children-are-going-missing-from-home-office-hotels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/01\/25\/hundreds-of-asylum-seeking-children-are-going-missing-from-home-office-hotels\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of asylum-seeking children are going missing from Home Office hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hundreds of child asylum seekers have been kidnapped from Home Office<\/a> hotels, according to an investigation from the<\/a> Observer.\u00a0<\/em>The Home Office had been warned by police that many of the children arrived without parents or guardians, and so were at risk from criminal networks. A whistleblower told the Observer<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Children are literally being picked up from outside the building, disappearing and not being found. They\u2019re being taken from the street by traffickers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The whistleblower also alleged that children have been trafficked from<\/a> “a similar hotel run by the Home Office in Hythe, Kent”, estimating that 10% of its children disappear each week.<\/p>\n

When the story was first reported, it was thought that 136 children were missing<\/a> from a Brighton hotel run by the Home Office. Now, Home Office minister Simon Murray has admitted that around 200 children<\/a> are missing from hotels housing asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

Who’s responsible?<\/h2>\n

When asked to comment on the allegations<\/a>, Brighton and Hove city council directed the\u00a0Observer’s\u00a0<\/em>investigators to the police. Sussex police, in turn, said that enquiries should go to the Home Office. The Home Office said:<\/p>\n

Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children, regardless of where they go missing from.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Evidently, neither central government, local government, nor police forces are willing to take responsibility for this.<\/p>\n

Anti-trafficking social worker Lauren Starkey summed up the situation:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

The buck passing here is truly outrageous. No one willing to take any responsibility for handing some of the most vulnerable children in the country over to traffickers. Shame on every single one of them. pic.twitter.com\/RGR4sUq74A<\/a><\/p>\n

— Lauren Starkey \"\ud83e\udde1\" (@LaurenHStarkey) January 21, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n