'I shudder to think about wrongly assessed children forced to sleep next to adults,' Children's Commissioner warns

'I shudder to think about wrongly assessed children forced to sleep next to adults,' Children's Commissioner warns EXCLUSIVE: Urgent action is needed to stop child asylum seekers being wrongly assessed as adults, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza will say today Urgent action is needed to stop child asylum seekers being wrongly assessed as adults, the Children’s Commissioner will say today. In a major speech, Dame Rachel de Souza will warn of "appalling" consequences amid her office's analysis showing at least 23% of age assessments deeming asylum seekers as adults are overturned. She will brand this an "extraordinarily high rate of inadequate decision making" and say it makes her "shudder" to think of wrongly assessed children being forced to sleep alongside adults. In the inaugural Jesuit Refugee Service UK Annual Lecture, Dame Rachel is expected to say: “As Children's Commissioner, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the rights of children in England. No matter how they get here. No matter what their asylum status is. That has guided everything I have done in five years in this role, and it guides what I want to say to you now. “I shudder to think about those wrongly assessed children, forced to live and sleep alongside strange adults... then when we correct our mistake, declaring too much time has passed, they are now 18, and can no longer access those routes which they are legally entitled to.” Officials apply an age assessment to people who claim to be children. This involves an interview process, alongside consideration of any available evidence. Dame Rachel will continue: “In the latest six months of data, 1,897 people were age assessed as adults. These decisions were then overturned a total of 442 times, with hundreds more decisions pending. So at least 23% of decisions are later overturned. This is an extraordinarily high rate of inadequate decision making. The consequences are appalling.” The Children’s Commissioner has repeatedly called for age disputed children to get better and faster access to age assessments, and a national effort to ensure children get the protection they are entitled to. During the speech she is expected to make a personal appeal for better understanding and protection of refugee children, saying: "I know what it means to protect children. Not just because I am Children’s Commissioner. But because in 1945, a tiny refugee girl was taken in by nuns in Bavaria. They became her parents. They understood the need to protect her. They saw a seven year old girl and they loved her. "Some years later, that refugee girl would grow up, leave that convent in Bavaria, and move to England. To Scunthorpe. That refugee girl is my mother.” Speaking ahead of the speech, David Ryall, Director of JRS UK, said:“We are supporting a growing number of children who are being held among adults in immigration detention, as the result of flawed Home Office decisions. They face a dangerous and volatile environment, with limited access to basic necessities such as healthcare. "The consequences can be devastating - many of the children we support have experienced a severe deterioration in their physical and mental health, and some have harmed themselves.” A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We take the welfare and safety of asylum-seeking children extremely seriously. Age assessments are a vital tool in maintaining border security, and we have robust processes in place to assess an individual’s age. “Work is ongoing to strengthen the decision-making process through the testing of AI age estimation technology. This technology will play a vital role supporting human age assessors with their decisions”