Prologue

There are 11.8 million children known to be living in the UK. But it is thought there could be as many as one million other children living here who are unregistered and therefore unknown. Some have been trafficked into the country to work in the sex industry, or as cheap labour in our sweatshops. Others have been smuggled in, or sent from Third World countries by desperate parents to be privately fostered in the hope of saving them from the abject poverty at home.

Some will have come in on forged passports, or under visitors’ visas that have since expired. Others may have been born here to parents who are not themselves registered. No one really knows the true picture, but these children live isolated and perilous lives. They are outside our society, unprotected and vulnerable. They only come to our attention when something goes dreadfully wrong.

This is the story of one such child who came into my care. Certain details, including names, places and dates have been changed to protect that child.