UK to take some unaccompanied children from Calais

Britain and France are close to a deal which would see unaccompanied refugee children coming to the UK within a fortnight ahead of the closure of the Calais camp, the home secretary told members of parliament today.

Children under the age of 12 would get priority, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said after a meeting with her French counterpart.

“We are expecting to reach agreement. When the camp clearances take place in the next few weeks we will be working very closely with the French.”

French authorities are expected to verify a list of 387 child refugees who have a legal right to come to the UK. “Once we have that official list we will move quickly within days and remove very quickly those children,” Rudd said.

Children with family connections in the UK would be transferred first under the Dublin regulation which calls for a child’s best interests to be assessed and for minors to be reunited with their family members.