Figures show 465 'child refugees' were OVER AGE & LIED to gain entry to the UK

A STAGGERING 465 "child refugees” who were granted entry to Britain lied to officials to gain entry into the country, official figures have revealed.

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Hundreds of refugees lied about their age to enter the UK

A 29-year-old was among the dozens of “child refugees” who were taken given asylum in Britain after migrants lied to officials and posed as youngsters to gain entry to Britain, official figures have shown.

Social workers carried out official age assessments of those who were given refuge in Britain, however a staggering number of those allowed into the country were found out to be much older than originally believed.

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Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Britain was taking the 'most vulnerable' refugees from Calais

Some of those admitted were nearly 30-year-old and may have posed a risk to foster families and schools had they not been checked.

Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday found that 50 local authorities from across England carried out 2,028 age tests between 2013-14 and 2015-16 and that almost one in four – a staggering 465 – were found to be over the age of 18.

It comes after concerns were raised about the ages of those allowed into Britain from the Calais Jungle.

The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act found that the oldest claimant, who said he was 17, was actually ‘assessed as 29’ by Hampshire County Council in 2014-15.

Portsmouth City Council found one male refugee who claimed to be 17 turned out to be 26.

While in Manchester in 2013-14, a woman said she was 17 but was actually 26, while in Newcastle, a man claiming to be 17 was found to be 26.

In some areas, nearly all the claimants examined turned out to be over the age of 18.

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How many refugees Britain should take has been a political sticking point

Tory backbencher David Davies, who has called for young asylum seekers to have dental X-rays to establish their true age, said: “This backs up everything I’ve been saying and I make no apology for saying we need to have medical checks for people who appear to be over 18.

“The alternative is that men in their late 20s end up being put in foster homes with vulnerable children and in classrooms, with all the risks that entails to children’s welfare.”

According to Home Office figures, the number of lone refugees claiming asylum in the UK has skyrocketed in the past four years, leaping from 1,125 in 2012 to 3,253 in 2016.

Since October 2016, more than 750 lone children have been transferred from France to Britain, all being age-checked.