Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleHundreds of migrant children have been wrongly assessed as adults by the Home Office, leading to their placement in adult accommodation or detention centres, a new report reveals. Data from the Helen Bamber Foundation indicates at least 755 children were put in adult accommodation last year after officials concluded they were adults during border assessments. The government’s own data, published for the first time, shows that in the year to March 2026, 57 per cent of migrants whose age was evaluated were found to be children. Charities, including the Helen Bamber Foundation, have condemned this practice as a 'serious safeguarding failure,' highlighting the harm caused to children. The government plans to replace human judgement with AI facial-recognition technology for age assessments by 2026, a move criticised by rights groups as an 'experiment on migrants'. It is not yet known whether the technology will be used on children arriving in the UK on small boats. In fullHundreds of migrant children put at ‘significant’ risk after being wrongly classified as adultsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Home Office wrongly assesses hundreds of migrant children as adults
Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleHundreds of migrant children have been wrongly assessed as adults by the Home Office, leading to their placement in adult accommodation or detention centres, a new report reveals. Data from the Helen Bamber Foundation indicates at least 755 children were put in adult accommodation last year after officials concluded they were adults during border assessments. The government’s own data, published for the first time, shows that in the year to March 2026, 57 per cent of migrants whose age was evaluated were found to be children. Charities, including the Helen Bamber Foundation, have condemned this practice as a 'serious safeguarding failure,' highlighting the harm caused to children. The government plans to replace human judgement with AI facial-recognition technology for age assessments by 2026, a move criticised by rights groups as an 'experiment on migrants'. It is not yet known whether the technology will be used on children arriving in the UK on small boats. In fullHundreds of migrant children put at ‘significant’ risk after being wrongly classified as adultsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
