Statement: MPs remove protections for child refugees

Beth Gardiner-Smith, Safe Passage CEO said:

“The Government won this vote in the Commons by promising it will do everything it can to keep refugee family reunion open after Brexit. The Government must keep its word to unaccompanied children, to Parliament and to people across the country who believe that Britain should do its bit to help refugees reunite with family here in Britain.

“We will be watching very closely to make sure that the right to reunite with family isn’t quietly watered down by this Government. In addition, Government Ministers have indicated they will bring forward legal protections in an Immigration Bill later this year, and we will be holding them to this commitment.

“Many of the children we support have lost their parents but they have grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles living in the UK and ready to care for them. It is illogical that these children be denied safe passage to the UK, left with no other choice but to consider smuggling just to reach their loved ones, or to grow up alone without the care of their family many surviving in camps and car parks across Europe.”