Seventy lone refugee children arrive in London from Calais in first wave before the 'Jungle' camp is destroyed

London: The first wave of refugee children have arrived
AFP/Getty Images
Chloe Chaplain24 October 2016

The first wave of unaccompanied children without British ties has arrived in London from the “Jungle” migrant camp in Calais.

A total of 70 children have been brought to London under the “Dubs amendment” which means the UK has to accept the "most vulnerable" unaccompanied child refugees who do not necessarily have UK connections.

Their move to Britain comes as demolition teams prepare to move in and destroy the “Jungle” camp.

The Home Office erected privacy screens around the building in Croydon to keep the children hidden from view following suggestions that previous arrivals appeared to look much older than teenagers.

Sage haven: two young refugees in Croydon this week from the Jungle camp
PA

On the latest arrivals, Bishop Jonathan Clark, spokesman for Citizens UK, said: "It's great to see government acting on what Citizens UK have been calling for and transferring these children to Britain.

"Not just children seeking to reunite with their families, but also the most vulnerable who are at last being transferred to Britain under the provisions of the Dubs amendment, including many young girls, who have arrived today.

"Of course this is just a very small proportion of the unaccompanied children out there and less than 1% of the total number of people in the Calais camp now, the vast majority of whom will be claiming asylum in France as they should."

The latest arrivals came as demolition teams prepare to move into "the Jungle" on Monday to clear the estimated 6,500 inhabitants who will be relocated to reception centres across France.

Jungle camp: Demolition of the camp will begin on Monday

Dover Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke said the camp must never be allowed to re-emerge.

He said: "The Jungle must be fully dismantled - never to return. This time they need to see it through. We must end the Calais migrant magnet."

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley fears unofficial migrant camps will grow once the "Jungle" is cleared, leaving people without basic sanitary conditions as well as access to interpreters and legal advice.

Unicef UK's deputy executive director Lily Caprani said: "Once the demolition starts there are no second chances.

"If it results in a single child going missing, or forces them into the hands of smugglers and traffickers, then we will have failed them."

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