Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Michael Savage Policy editor

Home Office faces legal challenge over risk of lone children being sent to Rwanda

A migrant comforts another who collapsed after failing to board a smuggler's boat near Dunkirk in April 2024.
A migrant comforts another who collapsed after failing to board a smuggler's boat near Dunkirk in April 2024. Photograph: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images

The Home Office is being threatened with legal action over concerns that children face being sent to Rwanda because officials wrongly identify them as adults, the Observer can reveal.

With ministers desperate to see flights take off as soon as possible amid a record 181 detected Channel crossings so far this year, the department has been anticipating a flurry of legal complaints to be triggered as a result of the pledge to deport some asylum seekers to the east African country.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.