Judge Blasts ‘Illogical’ Home Office as Afghan Child Accused of Being Adult Wins Case

The Upper Tier Tribunal ruled that an Afghan teenager who arrived in the UK via a small boat is under the age of 18, after the Home Office said he was 25.

Afghan migrants disembark safely from their frail boat in bad weather on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015. AP Photo/Santi Palacios

A senior UK judge has called into question the quality of Home Office assessment tests carried out to determine the correct age of small boat immigrants.

In a ruling made at the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber this month, Judge Owens said he was “unimpressed” by the standard of the tests and could bear “little weight” on information provided by assessors in court.