Still missing: Fears over 40 asylum-seeking children who vanished in the UK

More than four decades ago, concerns emerged over the disappearance of asylum-seeking children in the UK. As reported by a recent Human Rights Joint Committee, 40 children have still not been located after vanishing from asylum hotels in recent years. This issue, which has been persisting for years, has seen the number of missing children gradually decrease from 118 in 2024 to 78 in 2025.

The report emphasizes that all but two of these 40 missing individuals are now adults. The committee, in their report, urges the government to publish data and take action to locate the missing children, also warning against any future occurrences of such incidents. Dame Angela Eagle, the then border security and asylum minister, in a letter last year, expressed concern over some children who were found in exploitative situations, potentially trafficked.

The High Court ruled in March 2024 that using hotels to house unaccompanied children was unlawful, leading to the closure of seven such hotels. The UK government has promised to phase out the use of hotels for asylum seekers before the next election, preferring alternative buildings like former military barracks. However, this policy has been met with public criticism, causing overcrowding in some hotels.

England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, described the situation as an "unacceptable failure", stressing that every child arriving in the country has the right to safely apply for asylum and receive shelter and support. The government representative acknowledged the seriousness of any child going missing, stating that the Home Office-run accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children closed in January 2024.

Since then, the majority of reported missing children have been found, but the government continues to review its records and collaborate with local authorities and safeguarding partners to support these investigations.