In 1991, 3349 unaccompanied children and adolescents (under 18 years) applied for asylum in the United Kingdom (Carolyn Bann and Ruth Tennant. National Children’s Bureau 2002; Highlight no 190. ISSN: 1365–9081). Towards the end of 2001 there were 4196 such children in London: almost a quarter of them (987) were under 16 years old. Most come from Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, or Turkey.

Children travel alone to seek asylum because their desperate parents have sent them away from danger or because they …