LONDON, United Kingdom – More than 2,000 highly vulnerable children, including those trafficked into the country and those who arrived alone seeking asylum, disappeared from the care of United Kingdom local authorities last year, a shocking new report has revealed. The findings expose deep systemic failures in the UK's child protection framework and have sparked alarm among human rights organisations over the fate of these minors, who are at extreme risk of falling back into the hands of exploiters.

The report, titled "Until Harm Ends" and published on Monday, 24 November 2025, by the charities ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) and Missing People, is based on Freedom of Information (FOI) data from councils across the UK. Data from 135 local authorities showed that of 2,335 children identified as trafficked or suspected of being trafficked, a staggering 864 (37%) were reported missing. Separately, responses from 141 councils on 11,999 lone asylum-seeking children in their care revealed that 1,501 (13%) had been reported missing.

"This report highlights the risk trafficked and unaccompanied children face," said Patricia Durr, chief executive of ECPAT UK, on Monday. "They are consistently let down by the systems meant to support them."

East African Minors Among Most Vulnerable

While the majority of missing children are British nationals caught in domestic exploitation rings like "county lines" drug gangs, a significant number are foreign nationals who arrive in the UK through perilous journeys. Data from the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in 2024 identified Sudanese and Eritrean children as among the most common non-British nationalities referred as potential trafficking victims, after Albanian nationals. Furthermore, UK government statistics for the year ending March 2025 showed that Sudan was the top country of origin for applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

These figures underscore the direct relevance of the UK's child protection crisis to the East Africa region. Minors fleeing conflict, instability, and poverty in countries like Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia are among those being failed. Trafficking routes from Africa to the UK are well-documented, with victims often subjected to forced labour, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation upon arrival. The International Organization for Migration noted in a 2023 report an increasing number of East Africans entering the UK, highlighting the regional vulnerability to such trafficking networks.

A System in Crisis

The report by ECPAT UK and Missing People accuses local authorities, the police, and the central government of a persistent and collective failure to safeguard these children, a finding that has echoed over the last decade. Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect unaccompanied minors, but critics argue the system is overwhelmed and ill-equipped. The placement of children in unsupervised settings, such as hotels, has been heavily criticised and linked to disappearances.

In January 2023, the UK government admitted that hundreds of asylum-seeking children had gone missing from hotels run by the Home Office. Whistleblowers and media reports at the time alleged that children were being abducted by gangs directly from outside these accommodations. The charities warn that once a child goes missing, they are at severe risk of being re-trafficked and subjected to further violence and exploitation. The lack of centralised government data on the issue has made it difficult to grasp the true scale of the problem, a point repeatedly highlighted by campaigners.

Jane Hunter, head of research at Missing People, stated on Monday, "Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, yet trafficked and unaccompanied children are repeatedly failed by the very systems designed to safeguard them."

The findings place intense pressure on the UK government to reform its approach to protecting vulnerable minors. For families in Kenya and across East Africa whose children may undertake dangerous journeys seeking safety, this report serves as a grave warning that arrival in the UK does not guarantee protection and that the systems designed to provide a safe haven are critically flawed.