Gove Confirms He Raised Concerns Over Dental X-rays for Asylum Seekers

Sample News Big

Education secretary, Michael Gove, has confirmed that he warned fellow ministers about the controversial dental X-ray trial for asylum seekers.

Gove said that he and three fellow ministers raised concerns to the Home Office and the Border Agency regarding the recent trial, which uses dental X-rays to determine the age of young asylum seekers.

Last month, a three-month trial was launched by the Border Agency amid concerns from MPs, children’s commissioners and immigration lawyers. The UK’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, also said that the trial should not go ahead without ethical permission, but this advice was ignored.

Speaking on Tuesday, Michael Gove, told the Commons Select Committee, that the department had written to the Home Office and raised a number of questions surrounding the controversial scheme. He also admitted that he had immediate worries about the scheme and this is why he acted quickly.

The trial programme was introduced to help border staff determine the age of young people, as some have been known to lie about their age in order to avoid deportment, with some young asylum seekers having suggested that they are aged under 18 in order to stay in the UK. Dental X-rays are an accurate way of confirming age, but the trial has raised ethical issues due to the potentially dangerous nature of radiation.

 

Join this Discussion

Comments are closed.