MORE than 70 high-profile figures including Olivia Colman and Stephen Fry are calling on the PM to change “inhumane” asylum laws that force refugee children in Britain to “live their lives alone.” 

Dozens of sports stars, musicians and actors have written an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding he open safe routes for family members of children who have already been granted refugee status in the country. 

Under current rules adult refugees are allowed to sponsor close family members to join them in Britain. But children who have been granted refugee status after travelling to the country alone are not able to bring their close relatives to live here. 

The impact of this forced separation on children has been described by charities as “devastating,” with many suffering constant anxiety, fear for the safety of their parents and siblings and, in some cases, serious damage to their mental health.

The letter, which has also been signed by actors Patrick Stewart and Chiwetel Ejiofor, the band members of Coldplay and football legend Gary Lineker reads: “After finally reaching safety, many must now grapple with a future of insecurity, knowing they might never see their family again. 

“Tragically, at a time when children need their parents the most, our current rules mean that child refugees in this country will be left to live their lives alone.”

The signatories are among the 70-plus celebrities to back the Families Together coalition, which includes Amnesty International, Refugee Council and British Red Cross. 

One person affected by the tight restrictions is Merhawi Hagos, 18, who came to Britain as a refugee from Eritrea. Although he was granted asylum two years ago, his family remains in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. 

“I have found the experience of living without a family to be unbearable … I cannot plan, I cannot focus on my work or studies,” he said. “I feel lonely and depressed and do not sleep well.”

Chief executive of the Refugee Council Maurice Wren described the current rules as inhumane.

“The pandemic has made us all acutely aware of the pain of family separation, but this is something that children to whom the UK gives refugee protection have been living with for years,” she said. 

“It’s time to end the inhumane rules that separate children from their parents and cause long-term harm to children’s development and wellbeing.”

Campaigners have warned that the current rules are forcing people to take dangerous routes to Britain to be reunited with their loved ones. 

This year about 7,000 people have made the perilous Channel crossing to Britain in small boats. Humanitarian groups have urged the government to respond by opening safe routes to prevent people resorting to smugglers. 

But instead ministers have adopted a hard-line approach aimed at deterring asylum-seekers coming to Britain’s shores, including the creation and appointment of a new “channel threat commander” and the launch of a deportation drive to return those who arrive via this route. 

The government also plans to close the only remaining safe route to Britain for child refugees living in Europe, including those stranded in squalid camps in northern France and the Greek islands.