Charities defend migrants against 'lazy assumptions' as MPs call for medical checks

Charities and MPs have defended a group of unaccompanied child refugees who arrived in the UK this week to a hostile reception from those claiming they "don't look like children".

Images of the 14 to 17-year-olds transferred to Croydon from Calais's "Jungle" camp were splashed across the front pages of some newspapers, after the Tory MP David Davies said refugees should be forced to undergo dental checks to prove they are under the age of 18.

Matters were made worse when an adoption charity joined many on social media claiming one of the refugees pictured was in fact an adult interpreter accompanying the group and employed by the Home Office.

Government officials confirmed this was not the case on Thursday morning, but activists said this should not distract from the fact that the newly-arrived refugees were being subjected to "lazy assumptions".

They pointed out that suffering prolonged trauma can have an excessive aging effect on those who, like the Afghan nationals who arrived this week, have made a long journey to flee conflict and persecution.

Frances Trevena, Acting Head of Policy and Programmes for Coram Children’s Legal Centre said: "Vulnerable children fleeing persecution, often suffering high levels of trauma, will suffer from lazy assumptions made on the basis of their appearance."

Andy Elvin, head of the Tact fostering and adoption charity which was accused of propagating the "lies" about the refugee who turned out not to be an interpreter, said the government had not prepared properly to welcome those transferred this week.

"It's a complete shambles - and it's a completely avoidable shambles as well," he said.

"This is wholly the responsibility of Amber Rudd and Theresa May because the officials aren't to blame, the officials haven't been allowed to do sensible planning for these children coming over."

In the Commons, Monmouth MP Mr Davies was accused of fuelling "xenophobic attacks" with his comments about the refugees' appearance.

The SNP's Neil Gray labelled Mr Davies's remarks "disgraceful".

And the former England footballer Gary Lineker, who faced attacks of his own after defending the refugees on social media, said their public treatment had been "hideously racist".

But while the British Dental Association said Mr Davies' demands for checks were "inappropriate and unethical", not everybody was against the idea.

Tory MP Philip Davies called for a debate in the House of Commons about the "farce of allowing child refugees in to the country".

The Shipley MP said: "This is a serious concern to many of our constituents. Can we have an urgent statement on what the Government is going to do to ensure that child refugees are actually children?"

And Labour's Jack Straw said he "wouldn't have ruled out" dental checks if the issue had arisen in his time as Home Secretary under Tony Blair.

He told the Daily Mail: "What I would say to those supporting an increase in numbers of refugees to come here is this: if it turns out those coming in here are over 18 - and the truth will emerge after a while - then it will undermine public confidence in the whole system.

"So having tests, providing they are not too intrusive and invasive, is actually a sensible thing to do for everyone concerned."

Leader of the Commons David Lidington said the Government works closely with the French authorities to ensure all cases qualify under the Dublin arrangement, including the need for children to be under 18.

Speaking during the weekly Business Statement in the Commons, he added: "We must carry out checks in a way that are compliant with High Court judgments.

"The British Dental Association has taken the view to carry out X-rays of claimants' teeth would not be a reliable indicator of age as well as being unethical."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Tact said: "With regard to a recent tweet by Tact questioning the status of an individual male in a photograph at Calais, our information was from a credible source.

"However, if the male is indeed a migrant and not an interpreter, Tact regrets any concern caused. The tweet has now been withdrawn as we do not want to cause any further distress to the individual depicted."