At least two migrants have died attempting to cross the English Channel from France, just hours after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood failed to secure a new beach patrol agreement with Paris. The deaths occurred near Gravelines, Calais, on Wednesday morning.
French authorities reported that a small boat headed towards the beach around 9:30am, where a group of about 30 migrants was waiting. Responders pulled eight people onto a rescue boat, but two could not be saved. Another person was rushed to hospital in Dunkirk with suspected hypothermia. A French navy helicopter later searched the area to ensure no one was left in the water.
The tragedy came after seven consecutive days with no small boat crossings. On Tuesday, Mahmood signed a £2 million-a-week extension to the current arrangement, just before the near £500 million deal aimed at reducing departures was due to expire. The two-month extension means operational contracts will continue to be funded by £16.2 million of UK Government money. A Home Office spokesperson said Mahmood is “driving a hard bargain” with Paris, “getting more bang for our buck”.
The 2023 deal, worth £478 million, was intended to fund a new detention centre in France and hundreds of extra law enforcement officers on French shores. However, crossings have risen, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat in 2025. So far this year, 4,441 people have arrived. Mahmood is under pressure to reduce numbers and has reportedly pushed for performance-related clauses linking funding to the proportion of boats intercepted.
Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, said: “It is a tragedy that another two lives have been lost to our deadly border. That this latest tragedy comes hours after the Home Secretary agreed an extension to their brutal border deal with France, is telling. The UK-French agreements on border security do not work as a deterrent, but they do kill. If the UK Government wanted to save lives, and end Channel crossings, they would immediately introduce safe routes for refugees to claim asylum in the UK.”
