Child, 10, dies in undercarriage of plane as British MPs vote down child refugee protections

British MPs have voted down proposals to enshrine protections for child refugees as part of the Government's Brexit agreement on the day that the body of a child aged 10 has been found in the undercarriage of a plane which arrived in Paris.

- Additional reporting by Press Association

Air France have confirmed that "the lifeless body of a stowaway" was discovered at Charles de Gaulle Airport early in the morning on a flight from Abidjan.

The news comes on the day that British MPs voted down proposals to enshrine protections for child refugees as part of the Government's Brexit agreement.

The BBC are reporting how the body was found in the well of the landing gear of an aircraft which flew in from Ivory Coast.

"The airline expresses their condolences and deplores this human tragedy," Air France said in a tweet, without specifying the age of person found.

The BBC said the National Gendarmerie confirmed the body was of "African origin".

Meanwhile, following his election victory, Boris Johnson re-drafted his European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill and rowed back on the previous government’s acceptance of an amendment from Labour peer Lord Dubs to allow unaccompanied child refugees to continue to be reunited with their families in the UK after exit day.

Clause 37 of the Bill replaces the pledge with a watered-down vow for ministers to “make a statement” on the progress of the talks once the divorce with Brussels is complete.

Johnson's decision to tear up the commitment to family reunion for unaccompanied refugee children after Brexit is a disgrace.

Tory MPs should take a moral stance and force the Government to rethink its approach on this vital issue. My letter with @AlfDubs. #Scrap37 pic.twitter.com/vg5KLvoZZQ

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 7, 2020

Labour branded the move “disgraceful”, while the SNP said it could have “tragic consequences”.

With Conservative MPs voting against the amendment, it was defeated by a majority of 96 votes on Wednesday afternoon, on the Bill’s second day of committee stage scrutiny in the Commons.

Ahead of the debate, Labour leadership hopeful Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Dubs, who fled from the Nazis on the Kindertransport to Britain when he was aged six, wrote to all Tory MPs calling on them to vote against the Prime Minister’s “disgraceful” change.

Legal family reunion is a lifeline to these children who would otherwise risk their lives in dinghies or in the back of lorries

In the Commons chamber, SNP home affairs spokeswoman Joanna Cherry urged the Government to accept proposals to protect child refugees after Brexit or risk “tragic consequences”.

She told MPs: “Right now, across Europe, there are thousands of unaccompanied children living in the most desperate circumstances, many of whom are separated from their families.

“And legal family reunion is a lifeline to these children who would otherwise risk their lives in dinghies or in the back of lorries in order to reach a place of safety with their family.”

Lord Dubs wrote to Tory MPs about the change to the child refugee pledge in the Brexit Bill (Yui Mok/PA)

Brexit minister Robin Walker has said the Government is committed to supporting child refugees.

Mr Walker told MPs: “This Government is fully committed both to the principle of family reunion and to supporting the most vulnerable children. Our policy has not changed.

“We will also continue to reunite children with their families under the Dublin Regulation during the implementation period.”

He added that there was “very strong support on these benches for the principle of family reunion”.