Migrant Channel deaths rose after UK-France deal to stop illegal crossings, report warns

New analysis shockingly shows the number of migrants dying trying to cross the Channel is rising sharply following a major UK-France deal to stop illegal crossings.

17 people died or went missing in six fatal incidents in the last four months of 2023; shortly after then-prime minister Rishi Sunak signed a £460m deal with French president Emmanuel Macron to stop small boat migration.

The following year, 83 people were recorded dead or missing in 22 incidents; This was the deadliest year in history. Figures compiled by Sociodigital Futures Center University of Bristol and Swiss research agency Frontier Forensic Sciences at the show. Another 29 people have died or gone missing in 20 deadly incidents in 2025, researchers say.

The agreement came with a huge increase in funding, allowing the French to increase police control of the Channel. Charities working in northern France have reported a cultural shift in French policing, with police becoming more aggressive and being forced to act more decisively to justify UK funding.

The boats became even more crowded, with more than 100 people crammed into the boats in some cases, according to a report by the University of Bristol and Border Forensics. As the number of officers increased, traffickers resorted to dangerous tactics such as picking people up from the water and departing from further points along the coast.

Figures from 2019 to 2025 show that more people traveling in small boats across the Channel does not lead to more deaths. Seven people were reported dead or missing in 2022, a record year with more than 45,000 deaths, the report said. In his article titled “How stopping boats kills” he said:.

Travis Van Isacker, a research fellow at the Center for Sociodigital Futures, said that “these different but complex border policing practices have the cumulative effect of creating more dangerous conditions for immigrants.”

He added: “They showed that government policies to prevent small boat crossings were a clear factor in the rising number of deaths among migrants in the Channel.”

At Mr Sunak’s reset summit with Mr Macron in Spring 2023, it was agreed that funding would be available from the UK until April this year. Britain and France are currently negotiating for the next three years of funding and there is a delegation of British officials in Paris this week.

The deaths since 2023 have occurred close to the French coast, mostly just off the coast. In September 2023, Wudase, a 24-year-old Eritrean woman, became the first person to be killed inside a boat, crushed under the weight of other passengers.

Approximately 80 people lost their lives when they tried to board the boat from Bleriot-Plage near Calais. He boarded the boat early and was positioned in the middle, but as more and more people boarded, he drowned, the report said.

Greater surveillance on beaches and restrictions on buying inflatable kayaks also mean it is more difficult to launch independent journeys across the Channel, and the number of such crossings will fall in 2024, academics said.

This situation led to migrants who had previously tried to cross alone because they could not pay smugglers, to board boats at the last minute to fit into already overcrowded ships. This is alleged to have happened when Wudase was killed.

The researchers found that boats tended to fail early in the journey due to overcrowding and poor quality. Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs shows that there were an average of 71 people on each boat during last year’s winter months; Border security commander Martin Hewitt told MPs that 125 people were registered on one such boat.

The number of French police patrols has increased over the past five years, with 1,200 security personnel reported to be deployed daily. Police pressure has also led to the emergence of “taxi boats” that pick up migrants from offshore waters, which are more dangerous than launching boats from the beach.

French police have been documented entering the water to penetrate floating boats, and by 2026 French shipping will now be able to intercept “taxi boat” boats at sea before migrants can board.

Tony Smith, former chief executive of Border Force, said: Independent: “From what I’ve seen, the main cause of drownings is boat overcrowding. They’re already so far under the water, a big wave could easily topple the boat, life jackets are not fit for purpose and so the bigger risk is an overcrowded boat being pushed off the French coast and people falling overboard.”

“So I think most of the deaths occurred close to the French coastline, not 12 miles offshore.”

He added: “As for the smugglers, the bigger the boat, the more money there is, because the more people can go in it. The business has become very complex and the smugglers are able to procure larger ships. We are dealing with a very complex international organized crime business.”

“They are constantly shifting their operations, now even trying to go as far as Belgium and start from there. They are masters of being flexible on a long coastline, which makes the French’s job even more difficult.”

Mr Smith suggested the use of floating barriers and the establishment of joint maritime patrols between Britain and France to prevent boats from plying inland waterways. “We have not been able to reach an agreement with France on how to deal with this. There is no reason why we cannot establish joint patrols. This will be an ongoing problem unless we reach agreement.”

The data on the dead and missing combined official figures with data from immigrant rights charities and activists documenting violence at UK borders. By noticing an increase in fatal incidents occurring much closer to the French coast in recent years, researchers were able to pinpoint where the deaths occurred.

A Home Office spokesman said: “It is never safe to cross the Channel in a small boat and every death is a tragedy. We are tackling international migration crime and working with France to block small boat crossings to save lives.”

“This government has introduced sweeping reforms to remove incentives that encourage illegal immigrants to undertake the dangerous journey across the canal.”

The French interior ministry has been contacted for comment.