Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

UK police share sensitive info about children seeking asylum with immigration authorities

UK police share sensitive info about children seeking asylum with immigration authorities

Police in the UK have been collecting sensitive information from hundreds of unaccompanied children seeking asylum and then sharing it with immigration authorities, raising concerns that it might be used against them in deportation proceedings, The Observer newspaper reported on Sunday.
In 2016, British authorities launched Operation Innerste in an effort to prevent unaccompanied migrant children living in Home Office-provided hotel accommodation from falling victim to human traffickers. Police officers meet children to have what is described as a “welfare conversation” to help establish a “trusting relationship.” During the interview, the officers take the child’s photograph and fingerprints, and are authorized to use force to ensure the child remains at the location, the Observer said.

According to data released under freedom of information rules, officers have so far collected biometric information on 2,400 children. The Observer also discovered that at one time police were instructed to download the contents of children’s mobile phones. A checklist with Immigration Enforcement, a Home Office department, branding posted on the website of child protective services in Sussex stated that “mobile devices and any SIM cards are to be downloaded” and shared with the Home Office’s command and control unit.

The Home Office said the checklist was out of date and came from either Sussex Police or local authorities in the county, and that “the downloading of phones or devices in the possession of any child does not form a routine part of the safeguarding process.” However, police and local authorities said the checklist originated with the Home Office.

It is unclear whether any children have faced any form immigration enforcement activities, such as detention or deportation, as a result of information gathered during Operation Innerste. When The Observer asked for this information, the Home Office declined to provide it on the grounds that the records of each individual child would need to be checked manually.

“There are legitimate concerns about what this ‘safeguarding’ involves, when some police forces are prosecuting illegal entry and the Home Office is collecting data from these encounters, while seeking to undermine the right to claim asylum,” Benny Hunter, a youth worker and campaigner for the rights of child asylum seekers, told The Observer.

Meanwhile, there is little evidence that Operation Innerste has had much success in its stated aim of preventing young asylum seekers from disappearing. According to the Home Office, 13 of 30 children reported missing between April 2020 and November 2022 were found but 17 remain unaccounted for.

However, The Observer reported in January that 136 children had disappeared during the preceding 18 months from a single hotel in Sussex used to house asylum seekers, 79 of whom remained unaccounted for. Shortly after the story was published, Home Office minister Simon Murray admitted that his department had no idea where 200 missing children might be.

Patricia Durr, chief executive of children’s rights organization Every Child Protected Against Trafficking, told the Observer that a better approach to preventing unaccompanied minors from going missing would be to prioritize appropriate care, accommodation and support, in particular by ending the practice of putting them up in hotels.

A Home Office spokesperson told The Observer “We make no apologies for safeguarding unaccompanied migrant children and it is completely inappropriate to suggest that police should not be part of this process.

“The police conduct vital safeguarding checks for unaccompanied child migrants who arrive into the UK.

“Information is shared with the Home Office and local authorities to support these children’s welfare and safety, and to identify potential offenders and persons likely to expose children to harm.”
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
U.S. Tech Stocks Slide on AI Boom Concerns
White House Confirms Talks Over Intel Stake
Trump Suggests U.S. Could Support Ukraine ‘By Air’
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×