Today (Sunday 12 April) the Observer published an article entitled ‘Patel refuses to take children from Greek camps threatened by Covid-19’, which asserted that the Home Secretary has ‘has refused pleas to accept more unaccompanied children from the notoriously overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands amid dire warnings of an impending humanitarian catastrophe’.
This is inaccurate.
The department continues to process Dublin cases as far as we are able given the current circumstances.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
This is inaccurate – the Home Office is continuing to process Dublin cases, including children, as far as the current restrictions in place across Europe permit.
It is widely known that arrangements to complete a transfer are the responsibility of the sending state.
This is a fast-changing situation and we, along with EU Member States, will be subject to wider decisions from respective Governments, including travel restrictions related to coronavirus.