To think only 3 of the 15 migrant children look under 18

[AmyMiller]

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3843900/amp/First-migrant-children-arrive-UK-Calais-French-prepare-raze-Jungle-camp-ground.html?client=safari

This is so ridiculous, many of them look around 25.

I only hope that any headteacher worth their salt will refuse to admit a pupil who is clearly at least a decade older than the other pupils in the year.

how do we know one of them isnt ISIS?

We don't.

We can't.

We can't know that for sure about anyone coming into the UK.

But we aren't closing our borders.

We are just doing what we can to reduce the risks.

And our obligation to take our share of refugees isn't reduced by our fear of the people we know will abuse the system to gain access to the country.

Being clearheaded about the risks posed to the welfare of UK residents (including existing asylum seekers and previously admitted refugees) by those who we know will attempt to game the system, provides no excuse to renege on our responsibilities to provide asylum to those who need it.

one would sincerely hope Rhoda The man running with the children - he must think he has landed on another planet to think people believe him!!

That man

Hold on? How do we know one of them isn't ISIS? Wasn't jihadi John a British national from London? love your next door neighbour is more likely to be ISIS, Jesus wept!

how do we know one of them isnt ISIS?

Do you know how fucking racist that is? Why? Because they're brown? These people are millions of times more likely to be on the run from Isis than Isis sympathisers.

If Isis want to get into the UK they will by one way or another. But if we refuse unnaccompanied children who are in the run from them then we let the terrorists win.

If you are serious about being anti-Isis then you must support their victims. How could you not? Unless it's not about Isis really, and you're just using Isis as an excuse to not let non-white people in?

FFS.

Do you know how fucking racist that is? Why? Because they're brown? These people are millions of times more likely to be on the run from Isis than Isis sympathisers

Well the whole of EU must be racist then because its a worry the whole Continent is sharing from top leaders down to regional officers down to population. Seeing as a major terrorist group has said its going to infiltrate with refugees and has indeed done just that....its a valid concern. One that the Archbishop of York also recently highlighted.

If we are allowing, as some articles on here suggest, grown men to pose as children to be with children - with no background information how do we know.

No that does not in anyway negate our responsibility to take refugees but it is a strong reason why we need to take them from camps - near Syria - to help ease that burden and take vulnerable families - women and children.

But if we refuse unnaccompanied children who are in the run from them then we let the terrorists win

we have over 4 thousand unaccompanied children in the UK right now.

Having seen the sixth formers at DDS school I think it is possible the lad in yesterdays picture may be 18 or under.

The lad with his brother definitely looks young enough.

The man posted on the last page definitely looks over 18.

We had two children in primary school in the same year 2 class who were cousins We were certain one was actually reception age and one was year 4 age. There was a huge physical, emotional and developmental difference.

I am wondering now if it was like someone mentioned above about being registered at the same time.

Apologies for jobbing backwards a bit, but I've been out all day and it's interesting to see that, 24 hours on, we're no nearer knowing where, when and precisely how proper age checks are carried out - or even whether they're definitely carried out at all

Odd, that

We cant puzzled - all checks would only give an estimate and of course its true - sometimes - many times - children can look older - hit puberty young etc.

I think it would be a mixture of a range of measures and sometimes - the use of our eyes and common sense.
For instance the picture of the 14 year old - running looks to me a man.

These people are millions of times more likely to be on the run from Isis than Isis sympathisers.

A million times more likely?

That's some extraordinary maths you're doing there.

You think an undocumented asylum seeker is less likely to be an ISIS supporter than a person resident in the UK by 6 orders of magnitude?

Are these numbers you just pulled out of your arse (to the power of 6)?

If you make it racist to raise legitimate fears, you show people that you can't be trusted. That your argument is motivated not by what is reasonable but by ideological puritanism.

We know that ISIS has abused the asylum system in the past.

Pretendi g that risk is non-exustent is deeply dishonest.

I want to know which doctors declared these men as 'children'... So that I can avoid them in future!

Am I alone in being the only cynic thinking perhaps these few were picked to come first for a reason?

The tide of public opinion is turning, to support child refugees, and refugees in general. Wouldn't it be good if we were suddenly all made aware of some men making their way here under the guise of being children, and that there is seemingly no way to stop it, and what if they're dangerous and oh my god they'll be at school with my kids!
Que Panic, and the public opinion turns against letting child refugees into the UK again.

There sure seems to be something dodgy going on, these are clearly men posing as children so either they are being let in on purpose for whatever reason or the people doing the checks are totally imcompetent. They must think we were born yesterday. Its outrageous

Moo I made that point too, that's what I believe

moo I wouldn't discount that no, its a PR disaster lets face it.

However I must keep pointing out over 4 thousand unaccompanied dc are in the UK today with more arriving by all sorts of means daily.

I'm struggling to see what the government would gain from making the general public (more) fearful of refugees.

They are already running scared from xenophobic Brexit supporters.

Where's the win in making themselves look weak on refugees?

I am and (and a bit ) at some the pass-remarkability and lack of humanity of (some) people on this thread.

If you're so clever at guessing ages, tell me how old these three boys are....

Puzzledandpissedoff

The home office said that their document ere checked, the demeanour and physical appearance by 2 yes 2 social workers who then had to sign off on them being under 18

Medical and dental checks were not carried out as they are too intrusive, according to the home office

For every one of those blokes masquerading as teenage boys there is a teenage boy still in the camp.

The BBC have put an answer to the Q of how age checks are carried out here

Essentially it said what Amalfimamma says.

"Clinical tests are not used by the Home Office to assess age, with its spokesman saying they could be considered "intrusive".The Royal College of Paediatricians, meanwhile, says "age determination is extremely difficult to do with certainty because it is an inexact science where the margin of error can sometimes be as much as five years either side"."

So I think the answer is that we have no way of knowing whether they are children.

I'm struggling to see what the government would gain from making the general public (more) fearful of refugees

I don't think they gain anything but just make the public less resistant to taking in male migrants from Calais.
Support the current plan to give aid to camps near Syria and select carefully vetted genuine refuges from those areas.

It's not racist to say that people look older than they're claiming to be.

....and pity poor ds who had had a patch of grey hair since he was 14.