Letting migrant ‘minors’ in to the UK without age tests keeps real children out

HOT on the heels of all the brouhaha about “unaccompanied minors” in the Calais migrant camp being let down by the heartless UK, the first 14 have arrived on our shores.

Am I alone in having assumed that, at the very least, a couple of them would be noticeably young, vulnerable and possibly even clutching their favourite soft toy for comfort?

Instead, if the majority of them tried to catch a bus with a child’s ticket, they’d be thrown off by Blakey for boarding under false pretences.

But when it comes to allowing entry to all the, er, benefits of the UK, it seems that we demand little or no verification at all.

A Home Office spokesman has admitted that medical tests that might help determine age — such as checking teeth or wrist bone X-rays — can’t be carried out as they are deemed “too intrusive.”

Oh puh-lease. When holidaymakers want to leave the UK, they are subjected to “random” body searches that make a mouth check seem tame by comparison. So why the sudden coyness?

The truth, one suspects, is that ­continual pressure from the likes of Lily Allen and other celebrity luvvies whose gilded lives will never have to bear the brunt of mass immigration has forced the Government into making a rash, PR-based decision to allow entry now and ask questions later.

Another 100 “minors” are due to arrive this week and it remains to be seen whether — unlike the first arrivals — there are any obviously young children among their ranks, not to mention the girls and young women conspicuously absent so far.

As it stands, an aid worker based in the Calais camp has raised concerns that children in genuine need face being overlooked because those who push themselves forward are actually male adults wanting access to Britain.

The worker says: “It is a complete mess. Those at the front of the queue are not the most needy and vulnerable — they are adults pretending to be children.”

Whether that’s the case with some of Monday’s arrivals remains to be seen, but a betting person would wager that ­“vulnerable” they are not.

As a civilised country, it’s ­absolutely right that, along with other countries, we should offer help to any minors in genuine need — particularly if they already have family members in the UK.

And if they are who they say they are, no doubt those same family members would happily sign a ­consent form for an X-ray or dental check to establish that the “minor” isn’t a 25-year-old chancer.

But, be it through incompetence or political correctness, the current stance of failing to insist on compulsory medical checks means that those who need ­protecting the most may get trampled by the stampede of those who don’t.

A GOLD RASCAL

BOB DYLAN has yet to respond to the news that he is being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, with some reports suggesting he may even neglect to turn up for the handover.

This would come as little surprise to those who have encountered him via the music industry.

Many years ago, after a gig, the then-boss of his record company arrived backstage to present him with a gold disc.

Tiresome it may be but, knowing which side their bread is buttered, artistes usually toe the company line by posing alongside the boss while gratefully clutching the framed memento that their mum will quietly flog on eBay at a later date.

And so the company chairman knocked on Dylan’s dressing room door and, hearing a muffled “What?” from inside, explained the purpose of his visit through the keyhole.

“Leave it outside,” came the terse reply.

It’s probably still there.

SO MOVED BY HERO JOSH'S AMAZING DAY

JOSH BOGGI was just 23 years old when he stepped on an IED during his third tour of Afghanistan in 2010.

It was a miracle he survived, but the long, slow haul back to recovery involved the amputation of both legs and his right arm.