On Tuesday, the grim scene of bodies in bags being unloaded from search and rescue vessels was repeated, in full view of journalists on the scene. Once again, British and French government ministers expressed their horror at this new mass drowning of people trying to reach the UK.
According to NGOs working with asylum seekers, the policies of both governments could unintentionally increase the number of deaths of people seeking a better life in the UK. These organisations and Labour representatives such as Alf Dubs link the lack of viable alternatives to seeking asylum to the arrival of many people fleeing war and torture in the UK by boat, particularly from Iran, Syria and Sudan.
Within weeks of taking office, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has implemented immigration measures that have broad support in progressive institutions. It has scrapped plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, an idea of the previous Conservative government that would have cost taxpayers more than £700m. The current Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has announced another popular measure: a plan to cut asylum processing times, which will in turn reduce the number of asylum seekers stuck in hotels.
But Starmer’s reluctance to talk about “safe routes” to reach Britain is becoming increasingly worrying. His commitment, too, to increased policing across Europe that will force refugees to undertake the journey by more dangerous means.
French coast militarized
The French coast has been “militarised” after years of increased security spending that also comes from the UK. Cameras, night vision equipment and drones monitor the coast to prevent boats from setting sail from the most accessible beaches.
Under a three-year joint commitment signed in 2023, UK money for security measures on French coasts will increase each year to a total of around €565 million. Planned spending for 2025/26 is over €200 million. Minister Cooper also announced the appointment of a new Border Security Commander and the recruitment of investigators, experts and analysts across Europe, working with Europol and EU police forces.
But NGO workers warn that in this scenario, desperate asylum seekers seeking refuge in the UK have no choice but to take greater risks. They embark on beaches further from police checkpoints, take longer journeys and increase the likelihood of dying at sea.
The same journeys, with more risks
Steven Smith, chief executive of the NGO Care4Calais on the French coast, said there was only one way to stop the use of boats: to introduce safe routes to seek asylum in the UK. “All political leaders, on both sides of the Channel, must ask themselves how many lives will be lost before we end this avoidable tragedy,” he said.
“Their relentless obsession with and investment in safety measures is not reducing the number of crossings, it is simply putting people at greater and greater risk,” he said. “Doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different outcome is political nonsense. It is time for politicians to take responsibility for their decision to dehumanise people fleeing the horrors of their country, it is time for them to end this tragedy and open up safe routes,” he added.
According to Peter Walsh, a research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, there is not enough evidence to suggest that safety measures are a key factor in the tragedies at sea. “It is likely that the high number of deaths this year is due to a combination of factors, the most notable of which is the larger number of people travelling on each boat,” he says.
“The UK has invested a lot of money in immigration control in France and, according to government statements, some of this money has been spent on strengthening the security system, which includes new drones, boats, cameras and land-based radars,” he explains. “It is not yet clear whether this investment has served to deter people from undertaking the risky journey or whether it has encouraged traffickers to use ships on longer and more dangerous routes through the channel.”
