A new joint briefing published by JRS UK and Humans for Rights Network (HFRN) reveals a growing pattern of unaccompanied children being wrongly identified as adults, detained in immigration removal centres, and in some cases forcibly removed to France under the UK-France “one-in-one-out” agreement.
The briefing highlights systemic failures in screening, safeguarding, and access to legal support, resulting in vulnerable children being subjected to prolonged detention in conditions described as “prison-like” and profoundly harmful.
Since the scheme began in August 2025, NGOs have identified at least 141 age-disputed young people detained, despite children being explicitly excluded from the scheme and legally subject to strict limits on detention. Of these, at least 64 have later been recognised as children by local authorities, and at least 18 have already been removed to France.
The briefing warns that these figures likely underestimate the true scale of the issue, as many children may never be identified before removal.
“Horrifying” impact on vulnerable children
Organisations report that many of the children affected are survivors of torture, trafficking, and exploitation, and that detention is causing severe harm to their mental health and wellbeing.
Sophie Cartwright, Senior Policy Officer at JRS UK said:
“It is horrifying that children are being detained – frequently – under the one-in-one-out scheme. Often, they have already experienced torture, trafficking, or other serious trauma and they just desperately want to be somewhere safe. Instead, they are incarcerated in a prison-like space with very little access to legal support or even healthcare. They are traumatised and afraid and don’t know what’s happening to them.
The whole experience is hugely harmful for them and puts them in danger. Some have been removed to France, where they are at risk of destitution. This needs to stop. No child should ever be detained for immigration purposes, and the fact that this happening, again and again, is a glaring indictment of the one-in-one-out scheme.”
The briefing details how children are frequently misidentified as adults during rushed initial screenings conducted shortly after arrival in the UK: often late at night, with poor interpretation, and little opportunity for disclosure.
Barriers to protection and support
Once in detention, children face significant barriers to being recognised and protected.
The consequences are severe. The briefing documents widespread deterioration in mental health, including self-harm and isolation, alongside inadequate access to healthcare.
In some cases, children have also reported the use of force in detention settings.
Maddie Harris, Director and Founder of Humans for Rights Network said:
“Since August 2025, we have seen a rapid rise in the number of unaccompanied children detained, with the Home Office continuing to deploy the same flawed age assessment process used at the border, to justify their detention and intended removal as adults to France.
Many of these children are also survivors of torture and trafficking and are experiencing acute declines in their mental health as a result of what is often months of detention in the UK. These children are prejudiced from accessing the care and support they are entitled to as children as well as adequate, social worker-led local authority age assessments, as detention creates significant barriers to them doing so.
These children have been subjected to excessive use of force, including one child reporting he was tear gassed in his cell during a peaceful protest.
No child should be detained; all those who remain in detention must be immediately released to allow them to recover from traumatic journeys followed by long periods of detention and the fear of removal back to France, to ensure they are able to access age-appropriate care and support in the community.”
Calls for urgent action
The organisations call for an immediate end to the detention of children for immigration purposes and urgent reforms to prevent children being placed on the scheme.
