CHILDREN who arrive in Britain unaccompanied by their parents in an attempt to claim guaranteed asylum could be sent straight home under a crackdown on immigration to be announced tomorrow. Charles Clarke, the home secretary, wants to clamp down on the thousands of children whose parents send them abroad so that they can gain a family foothold in the UK.

Home Office figures show that about 2,400 children arrived here last year. In the past five years more than 15,000 have entered Britain, the majority from Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Serbia and Montenegro. Many come to Britain with people traffickers who abandon them at the airport or port without a passport or any documents that could give a clue to where they have come from.

They are often taken into care and granted exceptional leave to remain, usually until they are 18. However, Clarke is said to want to tighten the rules to make it easier to deport them.

At present immigration officials have to trace the whereabouts of a child’s parents before deportation but in future this may not be required if it can be established that they will be in the safe care of an agency or government.

Labour is desperate to be seen to be tough after opinion polls have suggested that immigration is the one issue on which the Tories are leading. At Thursday’s cabinet meeting ministers stressed the importance of outflanking the Conservatives on the issue before the election.

Clarke will also announce his department’s five-year plan to end the automatic right to permanent settlement for adult immigrants. The home secretary wants to limit numbers of family members allowed to accompany those granted permits to live and work in Britain.

Immigrants who appeal against a refusal to allow their families to join them would face fees of up to £200. Ministers hope this will deter immigrants from using the system to remain in Britain while they mount successive appeals.

The Tories have stolen a march on Labour by announcing quotas for asylum seekers and immigrants and have called for a withdrawal from the 1951 UN refugee convention, which gives asylum to anyone fleeing war or persecution.

But Clarke will steal part of the Tories’ policy by proposing an Australian-style points system for economic migrants. Skills in short supply, such as nursing or IT, would get the highest rating. Clarke is also likely to reduce the number of appeals available to failed asylum seekers.

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