Not Necessarily Traumatic

The Government's proud and noble record of child imprisonment has been highlighted once more, this time in a report by the Children's Commissioner which indicates the extent to which taxpayers' money is not being wasted on luxuries for potentially failed asylum seekers. Children's psychological well-being is not assessed "even at an elementary level" once they and their parents have been dawn-raided, indefinitely jailed and sometimes separated, and toddlers with broken bones can expect to wait fifteen hours for examination and a further five for treatment. The UK Border Agency's chief bouncer does not believe that detention is "necessarily traumatic" for children, since asylum seekers are a tough lot and there has been some effort to turn some of the prisons into nicer prisons; but he did admit that arrest might not be altogether a wonderful experience, which doubtless explains why he does not consider it necessary for every child to receive psychological assessment after being arrested.

No singers, sportsbeings or other persons of cultural significance were involved. Accordingly, the Children's Minister had nothing to say; the shadow Children's Minister had nothing to say, even about how much tougher-but-fairer the system will be under Daveybloke's Cuddly Conservatives; and the Liberal Democrats agreed with both of them.