Bearded asylum seeker declared ‘child’ by judges despite Home Office finding he is at least 23
20 February 2025, 14:54 | Updated: 20 February 2025, 16:25
A bearded asylum seeker who the Government say is at least 23 years old has been declared a child by judges, according to reports.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Home Office dismissed claims by the Sudanese refugee that he was actually 16 years old when he arrived in Britain.
However, a recent tribunal has seen judges overturn this decision, meaning the balding man will be considered a child on his asylum application.
Upon his arrival in the UK, the Government quickly determined he was “much older” than the age he had given, suggesting he had a “receding hair line” and a beard, the tribunal heard.
According to a report by the Telegraph, the man was described as “calculated”, with the Home Office alleging he purposely hid his personal information to prevent the discovery of his age.
Read more: Senior Tories blast 'out of touch' judge for 'ludicrous attack' on Starmer’s migrant remarks
PM - We’ll close loophole that allowed Palestinian family to use Ukraine scheme
Born in Omdurman on the west bank of the Nile River, the man’s asylum application claimed he was born on April 3, 2007.
However, the Home Office and Hounslow Borough quickly began to question his age, later confirming he was actually between 23 and 25 years old.
He was then placed in west London adult asylum support before his legal team launched a bid for his case to be reviewed.
In December 2023 he was placed in children’s accommodation as the tribunal got underway.
The tribunal ultimately determined it was “more likely than not that [the asylum seeker] has provided a true account of his age and date of birth.”
One of the judges on the panel was part of the group that approved a Palestinian family’s attempts to use a Ukrainian refugee scheme to move to the UK.
Hugo Norton-Taylor decided that the Palestinian family of six should be able to move to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme.
The initiative was set up in March 2022 to allow Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia to move to the UK if they had a relative who was a British citizen or had settled status. The scheme ended last year.
But a Palestinian family - a father, mother and four children - whose home had been destroyed in Israel’s massive assault on Gaza applied to move to Britain under the programme, claiming that their situation was so "compelling" that they should be let in anyway.
