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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Diane Taylor

UK and France’s small boats pact and doubling in drownings ‘directly linked’

A French police officer standing on the beach near a dinghy full of migrants on the water
A French police officer on the beach as police work to prevent the departure of an inflatable boat carrying migrants attempting to illegally cross the Channel to reach Britain in July 2023. Photograph: Bernard Barron/AFP/Getty Images

The most recent illegal migration pact between the UK and France is “directly linked” to a doubling of the number of Channel drownings in the last year, a report has found.

The increased police presence on French beaches – along with more dinghies being stopped from reaching the coast – is leading to more dangerous overcrowding and chaotic attempts to board the boats, the paper said.

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