'Not a refugee problem but a political problem' - Stella Creasy MP in tonight's Standard

Susannah Butter writes in tonight's Evening Standard 'MP Stella Creasy has led the fight to bring the children of Calais to London. As the first wave to arrive sparks a row over age, she tells Susannah Butter why she will take the grief to get it right'

"What’s happening in Calais is a legal process" says Creasy. "The children are being extensively checked. The idea that we’ve gone ‘let’s just let them all over and figure out what to do later’ is not the case. It’s important that when a process like this has been put in place, we acknowledge it and support it.”

So why are the refugees overwhelmingly male? “The children that have come here so far are ‘Dublin’ kids, But a lot of the girls are Dubs so there are around 40 of them still in Calais, in limbo, waiting to be processed.” She’s referring to the EU Dublin III regulation, which allows a child to come to Britain if they have family here, and the Dubs amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill that allows unaccompanied children to be offered safe refuge in the UK if it is in their best interests. The Dubs amendment was passed in May but the infrastructure to enforce it is still being implemented."

Full article here