2 2GM Saturday January 1 2022 | the times
News
More than 2,000 child refugees who
arrived in the UK in the past four years
were victims of human trafficking,
figures show.
A Home Office scheme that supports
slavery victims received referrals for
2,634 child asylum seekers, data ob-
tained by The Times under freedom of
information laws found.
Of these, 2,008 children were con-
firmed to have fallen prey to traffickers.
The rest were either assessed not to
have been trafficked or had their cases
closed without official judgment.
In 2019, the number of unaccompa-
nied refugee children referred to the
Home Office’s national referral mecha-
nism reached a high of 1,034, meaning
more than a quarter of the 3,775 child
refugees who came that year were sus-
pected victims of slavery or trafficking.
Once a child has been referred to the
scheme, investigators assess whether
they have been trafficked, and those
who have are given long-term support.
Across the four years, in more than
75 per cent of cases investigators found
that refugee children had been victims
of traffickers.
Child refugees, who typically arrive
from countries including Afghanistan,
Sudan, Iran, Eritrea and Vietnam, are
extremely vulnerable and many areTraffickers bring thousands
of child refugees to Britain
Emma Yeomans known to be at risk of sexual abuse and
exploitation by gangs.
In October, The Times revealed that
young refugees had gone missing from
care more than 700 times last year, in-
cluding 37 aged under 13. It is feared
that some were kidnapped by traffick-
ers who planned to force them into
modern slavery.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of
the Refugee Council, said: “This data
reveals just how many children coming
to the UK seeking asylum are highly
traumatised, having been through the
horrific experience of being controlled
by abusive traffickers whose sole aim is
to exploit them.
“It’s vital all necessary steps are taken
by the police, social services and the
Home Office to ensure they are kept
safe as soon as they arrive here and
their asylum claim is quickly processed.
“What they have been through is un-
imaginable and they need a high level
of support to overcome their trauma
and rebuild their lives.”
The national referral mechanism,
the Home Office’s system for identify-
ing and assessing potential victims of
slavery or trafficking, aims to ensure
they receive the right support and care.
Young asylum seekers may be re-
ferred due to trafficking they experi-
enced on their way to the UK, or once
they arrive. Many will experience both.Charities and experts, including the
government’s own anti-slavery com-
missioner, have warned that the new
Nationalities and Borders Bill could
make it harder to prosecute human
traffickers and may deter victims from
seeking help.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory
leader who proposed amendments to
the bill, said that the figures showed
how important it was for the law to give
young refugees time and support. He
said: “We must separate those who have
been trafficked from those who are eco-
nomic migrants.
“Those who have been trafficked are
victims of modern slavery and we must
ensure that they have the proper
support necessary to remain settled.
And the police say that once they are in
that state they are much more likely to
be able to give evidence to put the
people who trafficked them behind
bars. The bill has to make sure it takes
that into consideration.”
In a joint letter released on Thursday,
Dame Sara Thornton, the anti-slavery
commissioner, and Dame Vera Baird,
the victims commissioner for England
and Wales, said the bill “singularly fails
to grasp the realities of being a victim”.
They wrote: “Trauma can have a pro-
found impact on recall and will mean
that narratives emerge piecemeal over
time as trusting relationships develop.”An average of 78 migrants crossed the
Channel every day last year as the
annual total hit a record 28,381.
People smugglers ferried them
across in a total of 1,020 boats — the
equivalent of three boats a day — with
hundreds more stopped by the French.
The annual total of migrants who
arrived in small boats was more than
triple the previous highest number
of crossings for a single year:
8,420, in 2020.
Government officials are expecting
higher numbers of crossings this year
because the new powers in the
Nationality and Borders Bill, suchas offshore asylum processing,
will take more than a year to come
into effect.
Furthermore, a deal to return
migrants to France and other European
countries is unlikely to materialise for
months, if at all. Ministers have given
up on a new agreement with France
before April’s presidential election.
One government source said: “If it
looks bad now, it’s going to look much
worse in spring when it’s warmer.”
Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative
MP for Dover, said: “This is a simply
shocking situation. It’s not right that
taxpayers will be footing the bill this
year, and for years to come in
assessing claims, emergency housingand more besides. Hardworking tax-
payers deserve a better deal. Money
would be better spent strengthening
our borders.”
By far the busiest month was
November when 6,869 migrants
arrived in 201 boats. This includes 1,
migrants who arrived in 33 boats on a
single day, November 11.
November brought the gravest
tragedy in the Channel since migrants
started navigating the world’s busiest
shipping routes by small boat en masse.
At least 27 men, women and children
died after their rapidly deflating dinghy,
with a broken motor, sank in the
freezing cold waters. Only two people
are known to have survived.Migrant boat crossings triple in a year
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editorworld. India does not have a bilateral
trade deal with either the US or the EU.
A senior government source said
there was an acceptance by ministers
that the price of such a deal would be to
make a “generous” offer on visas.
Yesterday Boris Johnson promised to
go “further and faster” on using post-
Brexit freedoms to forge new trade
agreements and ditch EU regulation.
The prime minister said he would
“deliver on the promise of Brexit” by
boosting global trade and conducting a
systematic review of all European law
still on the statute books.
India has held out the prospect of
agreeing a limited round of tariff cuts
on products such as whisky, which
attract duties of 150 per cent. However,
the UK is said to want to concentrate on
a more ambitious deal, including great-
er access to UK service industries.
One government figure said: “The
tech and digital space in India is still
hugely protectionist and if we could
open up even a slither of access it would
put us ahead of the game.”
A Department for International
Trade spokesman said: “A free-trade
agreement [with India] will open up
huge opportunities for UK businesses.”
No hope at India’s iPhone factory, page 38continued from page 1
Visa deal to lure IndiaAnalysis
F
or decades,
business
executives
have dreamt
of breaking
into the Indian
market (Simon Duke
writes).
India is, after all,
the world’s second
most populous nation.
Thanks to a fast-
growing economy,
more of its 1.4 billion
citizens climb into the
middle classes every
year. Rising affluence
spells opportunity for
corporations,
particularly those in
relatively stagnant
regions such as north
America and Europe.
In 2020 the Indian
government
trumpeted a
milestone in its two-
decade campaign to
attract overseas
capital, when it
crossed the$500 billion threshold
for inflows. Foreign
companies including
Amazon and Walmart
have built
bridgeheads in
ecommerce, while
Google and Facebook
have made sizeable
bets on the country’s
digital economy.
Yet India has been
overshadowed by
China as a magnet for
overseas investment.
Chinese consumers
have much larger
disposable incomes.
India’s economic
output per capita is
below $2,000 — less
than a fifth of China’s.
Another problem is
India’s history of
mercurial regulation
and hostile climate at
times for external
investors. Rules have
undergone radical
changes at the whim
of whichever party isin power. The most
notorious instance
came in 2012 when
Delhi changed its tax
laws, allowing it to
claim taxes on deals
involving Indian
assets struck years
earlier.
The move
consigned Vodafone,
the mobile phone
giant, and Cairn
Energy, a London-
listed oil explorer, to
long disputes.
Although Vodafone
eventually won, the
row blighted its
ambitions in India
and rattled other
companies.
Last year the
government scrapped
the retrospective tax
rules. However, it will
be a long time before
it will be able to prove
that it can provide the
stable environment
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The deaths of two
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number of teenage
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angers Tuchel
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A wave of dysentery
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charge of a factory
that makes iPhones in
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thetimes timesandsundaytimes thetimesThe National Trust
has been accused of
undermining efforts to
restore wildlife by
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about “rewilding”. The
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