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P3 Signs Letter to PM Supporting Missing Refugee Children

Rachel Reeves 26 January 2023

P3 is among the charities that have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for safer, long-term accommodation of children seeking asylum.
 
The open letter was written after many separated children went missing from Home Office hotel accommodation, suspected of being trafficked and otherwise criminally exploited.
 
There are currently 222 children missing from these hotels, according to the latest Government information.

The letter states: “There is no legal basis for placing children in Home Office hotel accommodation and almost two years into the operation of the scheme which is both unlawful and harmful, it is no longer possible to justify the use of hotels as being ‘temporary’.”

It was originally described as “emergency” and only for “the very shortest of periods”, but has gone on for 18 months.

The letter concludes: “We request the end to this practice immediately with a commitment to an end date after which these practices will not be revived and an urgent independent inquiry given these significant matters of public concern following the reported failures to protect vulnerable children from harm.”

Other charity signatories include Children England, which has issued a joint statement on this issue, also signed by P3, which can be read HERE.

 

Image by Michal Parzuchowski on Unsplash