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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/19/home-office-rules-out-unethical-dental-checks-for-calais-refugees
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| Home Office rules out 'unethical' dental checks for Calais refugees | Home Office rules out 'unethical' dental checks for Calais refugees |
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| The Home Office has ruled out calls for dental X-ray checks to verify the age of Calais refugees arriving in Britain criticising them as “inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical”. | The Home Office has ruled out calls for dental X-ray checks to verify the age of Calais refugees arriving in Britain criticising them as “inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical”. |
| The official rejection of the demand from Conservative backbenchers was welcomed by the British Dental Association, which had earlier condemned the proposal as inappropriate and inaccurate. | The official rejection of the demand from Conservative backbenchers was welcomed by the British Dental Association, which had earlier condemned the proposal as inappropriate and inaccurate. |
| “We do not use dental X-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum in the UK,” said a Home Office spokesperson. | “We do not use dental X-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum in the UK,” said a Home Office spokesperson. |
| “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. | “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 (FTDA) 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,” they added. | “All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the France terre d’asile (FTDA) 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,” they added. |
| Home Office officials say that once refugee children have arrived in Britain they are fingerprinted as part of further identity checks. There is also the option of requesting a further local authority age assessment, which must be case law-compliant and approved by two social workers. | Home Office officials say that once refugee children have arrived in Britain they are fingerprinted as part of further identity checks. There is also the option of requesting a further local authority age assessment, which must be case law-compliant and approved by two social workers. |
| David Davies, chairman of the Commons Welsh affairs select committee, had said dental checks or hand X-rays to check bone density should be used to check ages and stop Britain’s hospitality being abused. | David Davies, chairman of the Commons Welsh affairs select committee, had said dental checks or hand X-rays to check bone density should be used to check ages and stop Britain’s hospitality being abused. |
| He said: “People in Britain 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.” | He said: “People in Britain 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.” |
| The British Dental Association had told the Home Office that they were “vigorously opposed” to the use of dental x-rays to determine the age of asylum seekers and asked for the privacy of “these vulnerable young people” to be respected by the media. | The British Dental Association had told the Home Office that they were “vigorously opposed” to the use of dental x-rays to determine the age of asylum seekers and asked for the privacy of “these vulnerable young people” to be respected by the media. |
| “It’s not only an inaccurate method for assessing age, but it is inappropriate and unethical to take radiographs of people when there is no health benefit for them. X-rays taken for a clinically justified reason must not be used for another purpose without the patient’s informed consent, without coercion and in full knowledge of how the radiograph will be used and by whom.” | “It’s not only an inaccurate method for assessing age, but it is inappropriate and unethical to take radiographs of people when there is no health benefit for them. X-rays taken for a clinically justified reason must not be used for another purpose without the patient’s informed consent, without coercion and in full knowledge of how the radiograph will be used and by whom.” |
| George Gabriel of Citizens UK, which has been working in the Calais camp for more than a year, said that one of the photographs of “overage” refugees that appeared on the front pages of British newspapers on Wednesday might in fact be a translator. | |
| He said: “The reason they look so old is they have been waiting in the Calais Jungle for over a year to reach their loved ones in Britain,” he said. Gabriel added that there were 43 young girls who were lone unaccompanied refugees who were eligible to be brought to Britain under the “Dubs amendment” but to date nobody had come to the UK under this provision. |