Following a parliamentary question by Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke, statistics have been released that show in the 12 months up to June 2010, detention custody officers were authorised to restrain children on 18 occasions for the purposes of removal, with restraint techniques used on three of those occasions.
Between March 2008 and February 2010, restraint was used a further 13 times by officers escorting children onto aircraft.
Emma Ginn, co-ordinator of Medical Justice, which campaigns on behalf of immigration detainees, said: "Any restraint on children in detention is inappropriate."
In November last year, Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 came into force, making the UK Border Agency (UKBA) duty-bound to consider children's safety and welfare in the course of its work, while the children are in the UK.
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