"Within a day or two someone will come forward and claim asylum on this child's behalf - a solicitor or someone claiming to be a distant relative. The immigration authorities are not trained, resourced or encouraged to investigate these cases so the asylum claim will be processed with few questions asked."

Absolutely untrue. Any unaccompanied minor will be referred immediately to Social Services, who will then contact Immigration. Immigration have a team of specially trained officers who will come and interview the child. If anyone 'came to claim asylum on the child's behalf, they would be investigated by Social Services. the child would be referred to a solicitor specialising in representing children.
Children are interviewed differently to adults- but they are still interviewed about every aspect of their claim. If the child has no relatives in this country and none that can be traced in the country of origin, s/he would normally be given leave until s/he was 17.5 years of age

jessica, Birmingham, UK

Brian Clacey says "Who's footing the bill right now?"

That is indeed the key question, and I really don't care as long as it isn't my tax! People who live outside the UK simply don't understand the depth of feeling there is here concerning immigration - we really do feel as if we have been taken advantage of. Then, when something like this happens, instead of showing our natural warmth and sympathy, we see this as a focus for once again having to pay for yet another immigrant. We respond like this now solely because our welcoming generosity has been abused by newcomers and permitted by politicians.

Perhaps start his student load early?

Mike Hart, London, UK

the boy is only 9 years old. There are so many assumptions about him - illegal immegrant trying to make uk his? claim to have lived with white uncle? can't speak English? too well looked after to have been indoors ? abandoned so he can have a better life? better life than what if he looks well already? not many punjabis will give up their sons... i know of people 50+ who have been in uk more than 30 years but cant speak English. i have met English people in their 30's 40's who can speak English but cannot even sign their name or count their own cash - they cannot read. ... this boy is not autistic or a fraud just because we dont know who he is. some years back i met a smart man in his 40 s who walked into a police station with a briefcase and said he didn't know who he was. He didn't know the combination to unlock his briefcase even. He didn't know where he came from or where he was heading.. But he was white and could speak English. Let the Police find the truth

julie nanhoo, london, uk

Poor little mite. Whatever the circumstances, I hope there's a happy outcome for him.

C. Crawford, Watford,

Winnie of Melbourne, Australia, said "...if you strongly object to non-white immigration at least wait until the facts are known before hurling vitriol".
I can't speak for Australia, but we don't need more immigration of ANY shade. ...But if anyone should want to get a relative into the UK from the Third World for "free" accommodation, education, health-care etc., can you think of a better way?
Who's footing the bill right now?

Brian Clacey, Croydon, UK

It's possible the boy is autistic, it would be harder to ascertain that if he is frightened and exhausted. He seems well nourished and nicely dressed, so someone has cared for him up to a point. I hope he is treated better from here on in.

Trish, Dublin, Ireland

All those who raise the racist bogey of wilful abandoning and being in the 'knowledge' of how and why this all happened are so lame and pathetic. They do not even understand that a 9 yr old is 9 year old, devoid of any knowledge of race and colors. In any case, the journalist here also has a limited understanding of the case and what has been presented here is a first cut information on what is known. Let the boy, relax and then I am sure he will let these 'race haters' and 'legal immigrant champions' know what the case is all about. For God sake, leave the boy out of this race, class, culture divide.

Sameer Pathak, Delhi, India

Maybe it's the reverse of the Jungle Book, except it was too cold to live with the animals, :-)

Peter, Townsend, UK

Unfortunately it sounds like he's been smuggled over and told what to say. Maybe it's out of desperation that his family have done this. No signs of abuse which is a relief. Agree with previous contributor that the region he is from can be identified from his accent. Hope it's a safe and nurtured outcome for him rather than being sent round the social services merry-go-round.

Ani, London, UK

check the labels on his clothes and shoes. Were they bought from stores in the UK or overseas? Might give ppl an idea to start with. If he was kept indoors all the time, he'd be in pretty poor physical shape as well.

Vanessa, Leigh,

My son was 4ft 7 last summer when he was 7 (I know that because I had to measure him to see what rides he could go on at a theme park!) and he's grown at couple of inches since then, so he must be 4ft 9 or 4ft 10 now, and is still only 8, and is by no means the biggest in his class, so a 5ft 9 year old isn't really that strange.

Let's hope this poor boy finds love and happiness very soon.

Deb, Peterlee, UK

This practice was previously common in America with the dumping of old people in car parks to avoid high maintenance costs. It was only a matter of time before immigrants who don't qualify start dumping costly dependents in the UK.

jj, Cambridgeshire, UK

Come on lets be honest here this poor child has been brought here and them abandoned to claim automatic asylum and a better life.Whilst we would love to be able to welcome every deprieved child in this world,we can,t.This and more cases like it opens floodgates from all over world. Alass this is another instance whereby the abuse of the system by ADULTS in the knowledge that the state wil provide.

G.CAMPBELL, london,

Even a nine year old in a city in India would be familiar with English, that being the medium of instruction in a large number of schools, and may be able to both speak and write depending on what type of school they attend. Of course in villages that would not be so certain. If he can't speak English there is a good possibility he has been recently smuggled in. I am sure it will be quite simple for a Punjabi to identify the origins through the child's accent and knowledge of the world.

Raul, India,

"A nine-year old "who is 5ft tall" sounds pretty distinctive. Are you sure about the height? -- Arundel, South Coast, UK

well spotted, they may have mesured his height without removing his 'kesh' or long hair on top, which adds hight. Can't blame 'em, b/c it's a religious thing.

jayil, london, uk

Did you not read the Article? He did not attend school.

E, Aberdeen,

A white man who speaks Punjabi? Such a rare occurance tracking him down should be easy.

Farrukh, Woking, UK

A nine year old who only speaks punjabi. All very strange. Didn't he go to school?

Hamad Lone, London, England

If he has stayed in doors for years and only watched tv you would have thought he would have picked up some simple English especially if he was living with a 'white' uncle who presumably would speak English. Having said that it is
very sad for a child to be abandoned whether his story is true or not. Life is tough enough without being dumped by family and/or friends at a young age.

Kate, Victoria BC, Canada

"Is it not possible to have compassion for a child and wish to find out what his story is without the evoking of racial stereotypes and such generalised hostility?
Paul Kalsi, London, "


Well said, Paul. Naturally we're all interested in how such things can occur, but if you strongly object to non-white
immigration at least wait until the facts are known before hurling vitriol.


"He looks a nice lad - lets wish him well.
robert everitt, wolverhampton"

Yes, he does, doesn't he. Let's hope there's a happy result and it becomes a great story for his grandchildren.

Winnie, Melbourne, Australia

I think when the boy says white "uncle", he may not be talking about a real uncle. Asians also use that term to mean anyone who is older then them and has been known to them or their family/friends. I hope they find his family or friends... poor guy.

Mohammed, London, UK

He has obviously been told to say he was left by a white uncle. If he doesnt speak English and has customs.

G Melouney, Sydney , Australia

The amount of stereotyping and conjecture here is amazing. For all those suggesting that Indian children are some kind of primitive illiterates you should know that Indian children are the ethnic group with the second highest academic achievment in the whole of Britain, behind Chinese children and ahead of White children. Is it not possible to have compassion for a child and wish to find out what his story is without the evoking of racial stereotypes and such generalised hostility?

Paul Kalsi, London,

White male could simply mean fair skinned. In Punjabi language the word used is 'gora'. Gora is used both for fair skinned and also to describe a caucasian male.

Varinder, Ilford,

This poor lad might have been recently smuggled into the country which might account for his lack of English. And he must have lived with a Sikh caretaker because he maintains his 'kesh' or long hair- - which has to be looked after almost daily. I hope the police gets to the bottom of this mystery and finds his relatives.

Navdeep Singh Randhawa, Winnipeg, Canada

Unaccompanied foreign children turn up at social services or immigration offices everyday. Within a day or two someone will come forward and claim asylum on this child's behalf - a solicitor or someone claiming to be a distant relative. The immigration authorities are not trained, resourced or encouraged to investigate these cases so the asylum claim will be processed with few questions asked.

Its just one of the many organised scams that undermine our immigration system

Brian, Chelmsford, Essex

i presume someone who speaks punjabi would be able to tell where he comes from by his accent

anne , bath, uk

There is no doubt that someone will recognise this boy in a few days.

Phil de Buquet, Newport, England

The "uncle" who left him, needs to be caught... Are there no cameras nearby....... so police can check to see who left him?.... surely he must know who he lived with during his time in tis country.

surgeet, gt road,

Hannah,

I did take those contradictions in to account. Unbelievable that such situations do exist in UK without proper intervention of concerned authority!!!

Manoj Kumar, NRIE Edinburgh, Scotland

It is very common for Asian children of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan descent who live in heavy Asian areas to speak virtually no English until they are about 6 or 7. I used to teach in Leicester which has a huge Hindu population and the number of children that passed through the school system with a poor grasp of the English language was staggering.

Sam, Glasgow,

Illeagals and Immigrats. They are class apart my friend. The boy supposedly came here with his white uncle. Why on earth this article goes that far. He is just a boy!

Manoj Kumar, NRIE Edinburgh, Scotland

Perhaps there are thousands and thousands of such children . Ask the authorities / government . No , probably not , they haven't got a clue - about anything.

It's reportedly too 'sensitive' to ask the relevant people the relevant questions in a relevant way at the relevant time for the relevent reasons.

JSBlackett, Wycombe, Bucks

Unless this boy has beenkept at home, there is no way he has been in this country for several years. Children attending school would have picked up some english. So perhaps the boy is saying what he's been told to say.

polly, Newcastle,

He looks a nice lad - lets wish him well.

robert everitt, wolverhampton,

Doesn't this once again highlight the ease with which overseas persons are able to bypass a very simple and not so watertight system to control the flow of illegals or not into this country.

If we need immigration because of our ageing population, then why can't they come from Europe alone. There are enough unemployed from the poorer EU states. Why does the EU not protect itself from this type of thing.
You guessed. Bad politicians.

Colin, Liverpool, UK

Manoj and John

Granted there seems to be some contradiction in the article. First it says he had been in the UK for several years, but later says that (in the child's opinion) he came to the UK a couple of years ago.

But read the article for heavens sake ...

"Rather than going to school, he had stayed mainly indoors watching television"

Hannah Josiah, St Albans, UK

How many other children are there in the U.K. who don´t go to school or are not known to the aithorities? A week or so ago, there was an article about asian girls disappearing from British school. Many perhaps into arranged marriages in Pakistan. It wouldn´t take much computing power and investigation to uncover these unacceptable practices in Britain´s asian communities. Time for the authorities to act and not hid from their responsibilities.

Charles Morgan , Madrid , Spain.

A 9 year old, lives in Sothall area for several years yet only speaks punjabi!! Has he been isolated from the society for all these years?

Manoj K, NRIE Edinburgh, Scotland

If he is nine years old and only speaks Punjabi how long has he been in this country, if he has lived in Southall for several years what school did he go to ???

John, carlisle,