Human rights charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK) launched the legal challenge, arguing that placing unaccompanied children in Home Office-run hotels is an “unlawful” violation of the protections laid out in the Children Act 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
More than 400 children have gone missing from hotels across England, with the whereabouts of 154 still unknown, according to Home Office figures cited in a parliamentary debate on the Illegal Migration Bill last Thursday. It is believed that some have been victims of child trafficking and exploitation.
During the debate, Home Office minister Robert Jenrick told MPs that there are currently no unaccompanied children housed in Home Office-run hotels.
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