UN inspectors have raised the alarm over refugee children in Britain who went missing from asylum hotels and may have fallen prey to people smugglers.
Britain's new Labour government has been told to take "all measures necessary" to protect the unaccompanied youngsters from trafficking.
Scores of children have vanished after crossing the English Channel in small boats and being put up in hotels to cover accommodation shortages.
The National revealed last year that people-trafficking gangs have used mobile phone trackers to find refugees before luring them away for work.
Youngsters have been found acting as spotters for counterfeiting and drug gangs, with children as young as 11 unaccounted for.
Officials sought to reassure an 18-member UN human rights panel that they are taking action by putting new arrivals in local authority care instead of hotels.
"We're concerned about any child who went missing whilst accommodated in hotels and continue working across agencies to locate them," said Home Office official Rebecca Nugent during a grilling in Geneva.
But Gun Kut, a Turkish diplomat who led the UN review of Britain's race and equalities record, said the "seriousness of the situation" required a warning on the UK's periodic report card.
The panel is "concerned about reports of the disappearance of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children whilst accommodated in hotels that were operated by [the UK]", says the 16-page report made public on Friday.
It says Britain should "adopt all measures necessary to ensure that all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who have gone missing are accommodated only in places covered by [the UK's] child protection system and effectively protect them against trafficking."
'Serious situation'
UK officials have "reassured us that they are taking care of the situation", Mr Kut said. "In certain areas, the committee is satisfied, but yet it wants to make sure that further positive action is followed up."
The Home Office disclosed to The National last year that 144 children were still missing out of at least 440 who had disappeared from hotels.
One of them, a 12-year-old lone refugee, has been missing for more than a year in what was condemned as a child protection scandal.
The routine use of hotels to house lone refugee children was later ruled unlawful after a legal challenge by the Every Child Protected Against Trafficking charity.
Lawyers described children being forced into vehicles at knifepoint or threatened over debts owed by their families in their home countries.
The largest groups of children housed in hotels came from Afghanistan and Iran, but a watchdog said Albanian boys were the most prone to disappearance.
The UN rights panel also warned that migrants who faced deportation to Rwanda under a now-scrapped scheme still have an uncertain fate.
It highlighted the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers as an area of "particular importance" along with policing and criminal justice.
English Channel small boat crossing - in pictures
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the Rwanda scheme "unworkable" and has ruled out leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to allow for deportations.
However, Labour is still under pressure to secure Britain's borders, with 5,000 people having crossed the Channel on small boats since the election on July 4.
Asylum hotels and immigration centres were a target of far-right violence during summer riots sparked by the killing of three children near Liverpool.
The UN panel is "particularly concerned about recurring racist acts and violence against ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers", said Mr Kut.
It "emphasised the need for thorough investigations and strict penalties for racist hate crimes and effective remedies for the victims and their families", he said.
RIVER%20SPIRIT
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeila%20Aboulela%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saqi%20Books%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
ATP WORLD No 1
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 1
Mata 11'
Chelsea 1
Alonso 43'
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
if you go
The five pillars of Islam
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The 100 Best Novels in Translation
Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
