CITIZENS UK demonstrated at the Home Office in Croydon yesterday as they warned that child refugees were at risk of suicide following the closure of the Calais Jungle camp.

Many children are suffering a “significant deterioration” in their mental health as transfers from France were paused last week, the charity said.

The demonstration saw supporters of Citizens UK hold up banners and posters reading: “Refugees welcome” and “Restart the rescue” as they called for an end to the delay in resettlement.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Susannah Fairweather, who has assessed unaccompanied children in Calais, said the delays would create a “cumulative trauma” making settlement more difficult.

She said that the “significant deterioration in the children’s mental health” includes “the stark risk of suicide.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said that they would continue to transfer all eligible children to Britain as soon as possible.