There is no evidence that asylum-seeking children who have gone missing from a hotel have been coerced into crime, according to a new report.

The independent report by Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership, which investigated the dozens of children reported missing from the Hove hotel, said claims the children may have been kidnapped or exploited by criminals were “unsubstantiated”.

Chris Robson, an independent scrutineer who wrote the report, said: “Whilst there is a clear evidential basis for legitimate concerns regarding the number of children who have gone missing from the hotel, I have found no evidence to support claims of kidnapping or coercion by criminal gangs."

Mr Robson criticised the language used by figures such as Hove MP Peter Kyle about the issue as “highly provocative” and urged those with evidence that children are in danger to instead contact police.

He said: “The use of such highly provocative language should be carefully considered and limited to instances where there is clear evidence that such offending is taking place and it is in the public interest to raise the issue.”

In a passionate speech in Parliament, Mr Kyle claimed police pursued a car that collected two children from outside the hotel last year and raised concerns that those going missing from the hotel were being "coerced into crime".

He said: "When they managed to get the car to safety, they released two child migrants and they arrested one of the members who was driving it, who was a gang leader who was there to coerce the children into crime."

The report acknowledged that two men were arrested for offences of human trafficking and remain under investigation after police saw two boys get into a car, but that the incident "is not being dealt with as a kidnap".

The report said local agencies, including the council, have done all they can to help when children have gone missing from the hotel.

Get more great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day by signing up to our morning newsletter - don't miss out!

Responding to the report, Councillor Hannah Allbrooke, deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and chairwoman of the children, young people and skills committee, said it had made it clear the council had “acted responsibly to protect the welfare of these children within our powers".

She said: “As a city of sanctuary, we have always done and will continue to do everything we can to support refugee children, who have had traumatic experiences in their short lives to this point.

“The paper also highlights that this is a national issue with systemic problems. Much more needs to be done by the Home Office to end the use of hotel accommodation altogether.

“In the interim period, there needs to be adequate regulation in place for hotel accommodation through agencies such as Ofsted.

“We must now unite in challenging the Home Office to ensure that the children who are missing are found and that future refugee children are prevented from going missing.”

The report was commissioned in late January to examine the response of the Brighton and Hove Children Safeguarding Partnership to the missing children. The partnership works with the council, police and NHS, to help keep children safe.

According to the report, 137 children have been reported missing from the hotel in Hove, with 76 of those still not found.

Of those who have not been located, 37 are now adults and 39 are now either aged 16 or 17.