More then 2,000 trafficked children and lone child asylum seekers missing from UK councils’ care

Charities say vulnerable young people are being failed by local authorities, the police and central government

More than 2,000 children who have been trafficked or who arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum disappeared from social services' care last year, according to freedom of information data shared with the Guardian.

The authors of a report, Until Harm Ends, submitted FoI requests to children's services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking for information about trafficked children and those who arrived alone in the UK and claimed asylum, who then went missing after being taken into care.