The deaths of 22 children while trying to cross the Channel in the last two years, along with the mistreatment of thousands of others, were due to “catastrophic failures” of the UK and French governments, according to a new report.
Project Play, an NGO that has worked with 2,192 children hoping to cross the Channel from northern France to the UK to claim asylum in the last two years, has documented the impact of the hostile conditions in northern France due to regular teargassing, evictions and dinghy-slashing by the French police.
During that period the NGO documented the deaths of 22 children trying to cross the Channel, including five last year. The 2025 deaths were all due to crushing or asphyxiation in overcrowded dinghies. The youngest was eight-year-old Agdad Hilmi from Turkey, who died alongside her mother.
Since 2023, the UK has provided £473m to the French government for the “securitisation” of the border in northern France – but the breakdown of how that money is spent is unclear. Project Play workers say UK taxpayers are not aware that they are helping to fund violent tactics against children at the UK-France border. The report calls for a statutory inquiry into this border security operation and safe and accessible routes for those who want to claim asylum in the UK.
Many families with children have tried to come to UK legally under the “one in one out” scheme – which allows one person to come legally to the UK in exchange for another who arrived in a small boat being forcibly removed to France – but have had their applications rejected.
One man was rejected because his two children, who were aged six and one, did not have the correct documentation, the report says. Instead, the family tried to travel via a small boat. The father was beaten by French police on a beach, breaking several of his ribs.
One four-year-old girl in the report described being teargassed, saying “scary scary scary ouch”, while another child said that the feeling of teargas in her mouth, eyes and lungs felt “spicy”. Children’s smaller respiratory systems make the effects of teargas more severe.
The four-year-old girl received chemical burns on her back and stomach from dinghy fuel mixed with salt water, while another 12-year-old girl described sitting in a boat while police slashed it and teargassed those on board.
The report found that children have developed fear of the police due to officers beating their parents and regularly evicting them from the places where they pitched their tents. Some played games pretending to be police or pretending to hide from police, while one placed a pretend blue “siren” on his head to “arrest” a play-worker.
Katie Hall, advocacy coordinator of Project Play, said: “What we are seeing is a catastrophic failure on both sides of the Channel to ensure that children’s rights are protected. Every day, the children we work with face repeated violence – on the beaches, in living sites and as a consequence of the basic services they are denied access to.
“Although this is happening in France, the UK is in no small part culpable. Investment to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds has correlated with a sharp rise in violence, including record child fatalities.”
Project Play is holding vigils in London and Leeds on Saturday and in Manchester on Sunday to commemorate the 22 children who lost their lives. At each vigil one toy will be placed for every child who died. Supporters will be invited to observe a two-minute silence.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We continue to do everything we can to prevent callous criminal smugglers from exploiting vulnerable people.
“We are driving down small boat crossings and disrupting criminal smuggling gangs through our work with international partners. Work with France has prevented 40,000 crossing attempts under this government.
“The home secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.”
France’s interior ministry has been approached for comment.
