More than 1,000 child refugees at risk after being classified as adults – report

Children as young as 14 have been forced to share rooms with unrelated adults, with no safeguards in place. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Hundreds of child refugees have encountered abuse and exploitation and some have been placed in adult jails, after their ages were wrongly assessed by the Home Office, according to a new report.

At least 1,300 children were incorrectly deemed to be adults by the Home Office over an 18-month period, the report by the Refugee Council, the Helen Bamber Foundation and Humans For Rights Network found.