Lone children held at UK-run detention centres in France 284 times last year
UK-run detention sites in France held unaccompanied minors 284 times in 2025, according to FOI data. Rights groups say the practice is opaque and unsafe.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Guardian FOI data shows unaccompanied children were held at UK-run short-term facilities near Calais and Dunkirk hundreds of times over four years, including 284 cases in 2025. Charities and inspectors say the system lacks transparency and has raised safeguarding concerns, while the Home Office says detention is used sparingly to protect children.
Some children who were travelling without parents were held in UK-run border centres in France hundreds of times last year. These places are meant for short stays, but people are worried because children can still be hurt there.
Think of it like a waiting room at a train station, but with serious rules and police checks. The problem is that the story says some children were not properly tracked after being held, and two were later caught up in trafficking again.
The UK government says it only does this when it thinks a child may be in danger from the adult they are with. Child rights groups say that still does not make it safe, and they want much clearer rules and more openness.
Analysis
What the data shows
Freedom of information documents obtained by the Guardian show that unaccompanied minors were held at UK-run short-term detention facilities in France 284 times in 2025. The sites near Calais and Dunkirk are used to hold people suspected of irregular travel or paperwork problems for up to 24 hours.
Across the four years covered by the data, there were about 900 cases involving unaccompanied minors. The article says the yearly totals were 253 in 2022, 87 in 2023, 258 in 2024, and 284 in 2025. While child detentions rose, overall detentions at the sites fell to 7,454 in 2025 from 9,736 in 2024.
Safeguarding concerns
The Guardian says inspectors last year raised safeguarding problems after referrals for two vulnerable child detainees could not be found, and those children were later re-trafficked. One was a 14-year-old girl found hidden in a car, and the other was a 16-year-old boy with a trafficking and abuse history. Chief inspector Charlie Taylor said it was worrying that Border Force could not locate safeguarding referrals for vulnerable detainees.
Refugee charities and NGOs quoted in the piece argue that the facilities are operating in a legal and procedural grey zone and that unaccompanied children should not be detained. The Home Office says detaining children is done only sparingly and for the shortest time possible when there are serious safeguarding concerns.
Wider context
The figures emerge as the UK is also funding a new detention centre in Dunkirk under a reported £660m deal, which is facing a legal challenge in France over planning rules. The story suggests growing scrutiny of the UK’s border operations on French soil and the accountability around them.
Key points
- FOI data shows unaccompanied minors were held at UK-run detention sites in France 284 times in 2025.
- The Guardian says there were about 900 child detention cases across the four sites over four years.
- Inspectors previously raised safeguarding concerns after referrals for two vulnerable children could not be located.
- Refugee groups say the practice is opaque and unsafe, while the Home Office says it is used only sparingly.
- The report comes as a new UK-funded detention centre in Dunkirk faces a legal challenge in France.
