THE Home Office’s use of hotels to house unaccompanied child asylum-seekers has been unlawful for more than 18 months, the High Court said today in a “landmark” ruling.

The Every Child Protected Against Trafficking charity and Brighton and Hove City Council brought legal action against Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s department over the practice of accommodating lone youngsters in Home Office-run hotels, arguing that the arrangements are “not fit for purpose.”

In his ruling earlier today, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the practice was unlawful, as the power to place the children in hotels may only be used on “very short periods in true emergency situations.”

He told the court in London: “It cannot be used systematically or routinely in circumstances where it is intended, or functions in practice, as a substitute for local authority care.”

The Refugee Council hailed the ruling as a “landmark day for children’s rights.”

Chief executive Enver Solomon said: “The court has confirmed that there can be no exceptions when the rights of vulnerable children are concerned.

“The government should do everything in its power to ensure these children are safe and in the care of local authorities.”

The court had previously heard that 154 children remained missing from hotels, including one aged 12.

The judge said in his ruling: “These children have been lost and endangered here in the United Kingdom.

“They are not children in care who have run away.

“They are children who, because of how they came to be here, never entered the care system in the first place and so were never ‘looked after’.”

Mr Solomon called for clarity on what was happening to the missing children, adding: “There can be no compromise when it comes to children’s safety and welfare.

“We hope the government will take the necessary steps to find the missing children and ensure they are safe.”

Homes Not Hotels’ Hermione Berendt called on the government to heed the ruling and start treating unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in “the same way that they would treat any other child in need.

“This means no longer neglecting their well-being by leaving them in unsuitable accommodation like these unlawful hotels and providing proper funding so that councils can fulfil their duties to look after them,” she said.