The children going missing from Home Office hotels – podcast

After the Home Office started using hotels to house unaccompanied children in July 2021, it began receiving reports of children going missing. Only some of these children, who travelled to the UK in small boats, have been located and returned to authorities.

Mark Townsend, the Observer’s home affairs editor, has been investigating the disappearances for months. He tells Nosheen Iqbal why these children are vulnerable to being preyed on by human traffickers. Townsend also describes the conditions inside the hotel, after a whistleblower came forward who works for the Home Office contractor Mitie.

The Home Office said in a statement: “Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children, regardless of where they go missing from. In the concerning occasion when a child goes missing, they work closely with other local agencies, including the police, to urgently establish their whereabouts and ensure they are safe.

“We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all children in our care are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.”

Photograph: Brian A Dandridge/Alamy

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