Keir Starmer’s Government Is Funding ‘Violence and Death’ on the French Border, Say Human Rights Groups

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The UK Government’s attempts to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel by small boat is leading to increased violence and death on the border, according to a new report published on Monday.

Humanitarian organisation Humans for Rights Network and charities working in the camps of northern France said that more than £650 million of British taxpayers’ money is being used to fund police patrols and purchase surveillance equipment. This is then used to “instigate violent policies” on the UK’s border with France, they said. 

Last year was the deadliest on record, with at least 73 people dying on the border – more than in all other years put together. 

NGOs working on both sides of the Channel say the French police routinely use flashballs, tear gas, including against children, and unleash police dogs to prevent migrants from boarding. 

Chaos at the point of embarkation has been known to lead to people being crushed to death. Last year Sara, a 7-year-old girl, suffocated beneath a group of bodies while trying to board a dinghy bound for Britain. Campaigners say the UK is responsible for deaths like these because it is funding violence perpetrated by the French riot police. 

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Since 2018, Britain has spent more than £3.5 billion on private sector company contracts designed to ‘secure’ the border with France. A further £476 million was pledged in 2023, to provide surveillance equipment and personnel, including drones, helicopters and patrol officers. More than £100 million has already been given to France for the ‘one in, one out’ scheme to return migrants there, and to bring those who have been accepted to Britain.

Earlier this year, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that of 1,200 law enforcement officers at the border each day, 730 are paid for by the UK government. 

Alongside the perils faced while boarding boats, the French Government’s policy of arresting those in the camps on ‘no fixed abode’ charges also leads to widespread violence, the report states. One group, Human Rights Observers documented over 800 evictions at the border in 2024, affecting at least 16,365 people. Belongings confiscated during these operations include medication, prescriptions and asylum claim documents. 

Organisations working in northern France say police brutality is commonplace, with one, Utopia 56, recording 680 incidents of violence outside of crossing attempts between March and September 2025. 

Moussa, who lived in the camps of Calais until recently, said: “The police there are like soldiers but without guns – it’s like a war.”

Charities say migrants rarely report police brutality due to lengthy and unworkable processes.

“It’s not right what the police did. But we’re not going to complain. Who are we going to complain to?” said Jamal, who witnessed violence on the northern France coastline. 

This year has seen the closure of several safe routes to the UK, including refugee family reunion and some resettlement schemes. Campaigners and charities argue that the lack of alternative routes makes it more difficult for those on the move to seek asylum, risking increased police violence. It also allows smuggling networks to proliferate.

At least four people are known to have been shot dead in and around Dunkirk so far this year. In one documented incident, an autistic 16-year-old boy had a gun held to his head by smugglers.

“What’s complicated in Dunkirk is that the mafia is very present,” said an employee of Medecins du Monde working in the camps. A climate of tension and violence has really been accentuated over the past two or three years. We regularly hear gun shots, and sometimes we even see weapons.”

Maddie Harris, the report’s author said: “The more the UK and French Governments securitise the border, the more people must rely on smuggling networks to cross it. Violence used by smugglers around crossings has increased as police interventions have become frequent and intense. Higher levels of police presence means crossings take place under much higher pressure, increasing the violence between those organising crossings and those relying on them.”

The report calls for a statutory inquiry into the UK Government’s role in the increase in violence and deaths at the border in recent years, including the rise in power of smugglers in response to heightened security and lack of safe routes.

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, called for the Government to think again about its approach.

“This report lays bare the horrific brutality that refugees face at the UK border. British taxpayers’ money is funding this violence, so I wholeheartedly support calls for a statutory inquiry into the UK’s role. We must stop the dehumanisation of people attempting to cross the Channel and create safe routes to prevent more lives being lost” she said.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.