Government urged to rescue Calais ‘Jungle’children

THE BRITISH Government must prioritise help for unaccompanied children made homeless by the demolition of a large part of the Calais refugee camp, the Church’s social action arm said this week, writes Rose Gamble.

Dr Phil McCarthy, chief executive of Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), said proper arrangements must be put in place to meet the children’s health and social needs.

“It is also vital that unaccompanied minors are afforded the opportunity to be reunited with family members who have found sanctuary in the UK or elsewhere in Europe,” he added.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, told the House of Lords on Tuesday that there were 300 unaccompanied children in the camp. He asked Home Office Minister Lord Bates: “Does the Minister agree that issues of compassion should easily trump those of administrative efficiency and tidiness, and narrow definitions of family links, and that we should, therefore, take more children very quickly?”

Demolition work began on Monday of this week, after French authorities announced the clearance of the “Southern Zone”, accounting for 70 per cent of the habitable part of the makeshift camp last week. Charity workers reported residents being forcibly removed from shelters, and riot police firing tear gas.