Tory MP: electrocution and dental X-rays are just part of being British
Teenagers are all over the tabloids. The Mirror leads with the 14 years olds who murdered a mother and her daughter. Katie Edwards, 13, and her mother Elizabeth Edwards were murdered by the 14-year-old girl and her boyfriend in Spalding, Lincolnshire. The children broke in and grabbed their victims in the next as they slept.
The other teenagers on the front pages are those trying to reach the UK for a better life. Some are older than they claim to be. So one Tory MP wants them to be X-rayed to see if their teeth are under age or over age. The Home Office says: “We do not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum in the UK. The British Dental Association has described them as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.”
And useless.
“We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin regulations.
“All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the France Terre d’Asile [charity] and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age.”
Mr Davies reasons that refugees keen to reach the UK won’t mind being examined. “Someone who is willing to throw themselves on to an electrified rail line or jump into a moving lorry isn’t going to be terribly worried about having an x-ray,” he reasoned on BBC Radio 4 Today. He stopped short of suggesting electrocution and being run over should be part of the entry process.
“We must not be naive about this. It’s no good Lily Allen turning up with tears in her eyes and all the rest of it. We need to be quite hard-nosed here,” he added. “People are desperate, I understand that, and they will say what they need to say to get in. When I was in the camp in Calais there were caravans with notices on saying, ‘Come here, we will coach you in what to say to get into the UK’.”
Entrepreneurs are everywhere.
He adds: “People in Britain, I think, want to help children but we don’t want to be taken for a free ride either by people who seem to have got to the front of the queue even though they clearly look, in some cases, a lot older than 18.”
Forget dentists. Hire school bus drivers to appraise age. Some of those kids are massive.
Posted: 19th, October 2016 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
