Asylum seekers put in foster care after claiming to be kids

'Pocket money handout entices adult arrivals to lie'

- By Rebecca Robinson

SOME asylum seekers are pretending to be children so they can be placed in foster care and receive pocket money, a carer has said.

A report by the independent immigration inspector revealed that last year, 56% of migrants who claimed to be children were eventually found to be adults through further reviews or them admitting it.

Inspectors also studied a sample of 100 case files, of which 38 had initially been assessed by the Home Office as an adult. However, this number went down to 22 following added examinations carried out by a local authority.

A Bedfordshire-based carer, who does not want to be named, said she found out by chance that the "16-year-old" she was looking after was a grown man when she took him to the dentist.

She said: "The dentist pulled me aside and said, 'He's got all these wisdom teeth and you don't normally get them until you're older."