The fostering charity TACT has apologised for falsely claiming that a man in his late thirties arriving in Calais as a “child refugee” was an interpreter.

Published doubts about the age of the “child” drew criticism from football pundit Gary Lineker who ranted unintelligently that such treatment of “young refugees” was “hideously racist and utterly heartless” proving to many that he should stick to selling football and crisps.