“The clock is ticking,” according to former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Rowan Williams as the demolition of the Calais “Jungle” takes place next week.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Williams stated that the UK had a “basic moral imperative” to house “deeply traumatised and deeply needy people”.
“We have the beginnings of some sort of response to what is still a hugely troubling situation,” he added.
Under EU law, asylum seekers must make their claim made in the first safe country they reach. Children are allowed to transfer to another country if they have family members living there.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd reiterated that the UK would fastrack the rehoming of children who have family in the UK.
“Our priority must be to ensure the safety and security of the children in the Calais camp. Work is continuing on both sides of the Channel to ensure this happens as a matter of urgency,” a Home Office spokesperson said.
Some 44 local councils have offered 3,000 places in the UK for children who have no relatives in the UK.
Fourteen migrant children are expected to arrive in the UK to be reunited with relatives from Calais today.
The UK is expected to welcome Afghans, Syrians and “Bidoun” children from Kuwait who are among the 100 minors who will enter the UK before the “Jungle” camp is dismantled next week. Upon their arrival, the children will need to register with the Home Office.
It is estimated up to 10,000 people are living in the “Jungle” near the port of Calais and make daily attempts to enter the UK by boarding lorries bound for the UK.