The children going missing from Home Office hotels – podcast

After nan Home Office started utilizing hotels to location unaccompanied children successful July 2021, it began receiving reports of children going missing. Only immoderate of these children, who travelled to nan UK successful mini boats, person been located and returned to authorities.

Mark Townsend, nan Observer’s location affairs editor, has been investigating nan disappearances for months. He tells Nosheen Iqbal why these children are susceptible to being preyed connected by quality traffickers. Townsend besides describes nan conditions wrong nan hotel, aft a whistleblower came guardant who useful for nan Home Office contractor Mitie.

The Home Office said successful a statement: “Local authorities person a statutory work to protect each children, sloppy of wherever they spell missing from. In nan concerning juncture erstwhile a kid goes missing, they activity intimately pinch different section agencies, including nan police, to urgently found their whereabouts and guarantee they are safe.

“We person robust safeguarding procedures successful spot to guarantee each children successful our attraction are arsenic safe and supported arsenic imaginable arsenic we activity urgent placements pinch a section authority.”

Photograph: Brian A Dandridge/Alamy

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