Inside a shocking new report on two dozen deaths between France and England

Good morning.

At around 9pm on 24 November 2021, a small boat carrying 33 migrants departed from Dunkirk, France in an attempt to cross the English Channel. Four hours later, that boat started to sink. Some of the occupants began making distress calls to British and French authorities requesting help. As the coast guard services on either side spent crucial hours going back and forth about responsibility for the rescue, the people on the boat were fighting for their lives.

In the end 27 people, including a pregnant woman and three children, drowned in the freezing waters. Four people are still missing and just two survived. It was the deadliest Channel disaster for more than 40 years. The scale of the tragedy prompted an investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which yesterday revealed that a combination of confusion, shortage of staff, lack of resources and poor communication stood in the way of a rescue operation.

For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Aaron Walawalkar, a journalist at Liberty Investigates, the investigative journalism unit at the NGO Liberty, who has reported on channel crossings closely, about the significance of this investigation and the lessons that should be learned from this tragic event.

Five big stories

In depth: Poor communication, bad weather and lack of funding – what the investigation found

Two years later, the families of the victims continue in their fight for justice for their loved ones. The small boat, described as “entirely unsuitable for the intended voyage”, is similar to many that are still crossing the Channel. What can be done to stop a disaster of this scale happening again?

The report’s biggest takeaways

A 112-page report published as part of the investigation identified various problems that impeded the rescue operation. Firstly, a shortage of staff in the Dover control room: “There were two operational staff and a trainee dealing with a vast number of reports from the high number of boats that were crossing that night,” Walawalkar said.

The report also found that, on occasion, there were multiple distress calls coming from the same boat, which added to the confusion and could have contributed to the false assumption that the people on board the dinghy had already been rescued by Border Force. Another point made by the report is that the attitude of the staff “may have become habituated” to receiving calls from people who were in “less severe peril than indicated” – meaning that they might not have taken the calls as seriously as they should have.

“Another thing that comes out in the report is a lack of cooperation with the French authorities,” Walawalkar says. The control room received a call that lasted about 20 minutes, where they heard people screaming and in serious distress. The staff became concerned that the boat issued a mayday relay, which legally compels ships or boats in the area to help. The closest to the dinghy, according to the report, was a French boat – but for reasons that are unclear (the MAIB has not been not provided with this information from French authorities despite “extensive requests”) that boat didn’t respond to the mayday relay. As a result, the only boat that was sent to help was the UK Border Force boat, which was much further away.

There were also factors that were beyond anyone’s control such as the weather conditions that night which led to poor visibility. And a lack of aerial surveillance made it difficult to determine the number of boats in the water at the time and where they were located.

The reaction to the findings

Though the report is comprehensive in its examination of events that night, a lawyer representing the families of 18 victims and one survivor said it failed to investigate “potential systemic failings” during the incident.

Steve Smith, the head of the refugee charity Care4Calais, described the report as a “scandal” saying it was “more than disappointing”. Smith said the report did not explain why people were “left at sea for more than 12 hours, undetected by both the UK and French authorities but found by a passing fishing boat the next day”.

Is the situation any better now?

After the tragedy, Boris Johnson, who was prime minister, set out a five-point plan to tackle small boat crossings, though nothing came of it.

Rishi Sunak notably made “stopping the boats” one of his five key priorities as prime minister. To achieve this, the government passed the illegal migration bill, which prevents people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means. Sunak has also increased investment, agreeing to a financial package that would help monitor the French coastline with patrols and drones.

Despite these measures, the number of people trying to enter the UK via the Channel remains high. In 2022 nearly 46,000 people made the perilous crossing. The number this year is lower but it still stands at just over 26,000 – and there have been suggestions that the decrease is largely due to more adverse sea conditions rather than the government’s policy, Walawalkar says.

Crucially, more migrants have died over the last two years in small boats. The latest incident was in August, when a small boat carrying 65 people capsized, killing six people.

Charities, campaigners and some MPs have been calling for the government to create safe and legal routes for people to enter the UK and claim asylum. While there are some bespoke schemes for people trying to claim asylum from certain countries, for most people the only way to get to Britain is by taking dangerous routes organised by people smugglers.

“The other part of this is adequately funding the coastguard so it can mount a satisfactory response,” Walawalkar says.

The government has announced that it will be launching a full independent inquiry into the 2021 incident. While the bereaved families were hoping for a full statutory public inquiry, which has great power to scrutinise evidence and compel witnesses, the investigation is set to be non-statutory, which means there will be a lower level of scrutiny and accountability.

What else we’ve been reading

• Have you heard of Temu? Hailed as China’s answer to Amazon (but even cheaper), its app is the most downloaded in the UK and US. If you are thinking of giving it a try, Hilary Osborne has got you covered: she bought six items ranging from reusable straws to socks, with the pictures to prove it. Nyima Jobe, newsletters team

• The Westminster Panto is in full swing, writes Aditya Chakrabortty, but the real dangers are lurking behind the curtain. Nimo

• Flexible working is said to significantly improve heart health, especially for those over 45. Denis Campbell has more on a report that finds working flexibly can get your heart health back to how it was 10 years ago. Nyima

• Hollywood legends like Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader and Sofia Coppola have found a new fanbase on social media (I for one cannot get enough of Scorsese doing his silly little TikTok videos with his daughter). Stuart Heritage explains why these film icons have become such beloved figures on the internet. Nimo

• Former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has an extract from his new book in the Guardian, in which he shares the truth about his old attacking teammates Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah’s relationship – and the tension between the two that often left him caught in the crossfire. Nyima

Sport

Football | Brighton took control of their Europa League destiny with a commanding 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena to complete back-to-back victories over the Dutch giants. Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra, pictured, scored for Brighton. The academy graduate Jarell Quansah was denied a dream first goal by VAR in the final minute of added time as Liverpool squandered a chance to secure qualification for the Europa League knockout stage with a 3-2 defeat at Toulouse.

Cricket | New Zealand returned to winning ways at the World Cup after a four-match slump as they beat Sri Lanka by five wickets and all but secured their place in the semi-finals. New Zealand 172-5, Sri Lanka 171 all out.

Football | Gareth Southgate has opted not to call up Raheem Sterling, Anthony Gordon or Reece James for England’s final Euro 2024 qualifiers and has said the recalled Callum Wilson may have to drop out because of injury.

The front pages

The Guardian’s lead this morning is “Pressure grows on Sunak to sack Braverman over clash with police”. “Give Suella marching orders” – see what the Metro did there? “Suella’s future teeters on the brink” says the Daily Express and the Times has “Braverman’s fate in balance”. “Sunak faces calls to sack Braverman” says the Daily Telegraph, but “Come for Suella and you come for us all”, the Daily Mail and the Tory right warn the PM. “Sack me if you dare: Braverman defies PM’s authority” – that’s the i. A wordy Daily Mirror preamble invokes the right to protest, how such freedoms were won, and the need for all to resist hatred – then sums up with a one-word exhortation: “Respect”. The Financial Times has business elsewhere – “Apple suffers setback in top EU court over €14.3bn Irish back taxes dispute” – but does give Rishi Sunak and the Braverman controversy the pic slot: “Sunak tested, Braverman pushes limits”.

Something for the weekend

Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read and listen to right now

TV
The Buccaneers (Apple TV+)
I’m somehow an Edith Wharton fan without ever having read one of her books. I’m even more of a fan now, because she has given us The Buccaneers: Apple TV+’s take on her unfinished, posthumously published novel of the same name. It is Bridgerton, which was Jane Austen meets Gossip Girl, meets Gossip Girl a century on. It encapsulates young women’s expectations – of life, love, the freedom to pursue both. The Buccaneers keeps the importance of female friendship at its heart and lets it warm it. Lucy Mangan

Music
Jung Kook: Golden
With the three eldest members of K-pop boyband phenomenon BTS currently on military service in South Korea, their youngest recruit, 26-year-old Jung Kook, is free to continue his solo career. This debut album features one US chart-topping single, UK garage-esque sex diary Seven – and a Top 5 hit that recalls prime Justin Timberlake. The album excels when Jung Kook focuses on his honeyed falsetto. Golden is full of bright spots, but only fully shines on occasion. Michael Cragg

Film
Dream Scenario
Nicolas Cage has perhaps never been Nicolas Cagier in what could be his Nicolas Cagiest performance ever. Dream Scenario is a smart film about the uncanny experience of fame, its self-consciousness and self-alienation, in which celebrity creates a sensation of being secretly astonished by your own famous persona, similar to the weirded-out feeling any of us could have in running into someone we’d been dreaming about the night before. The film is at once strangely lighthearted and heavy with menace. Peter Bradshaw

Podcast
Anthem Talks: Transgender Awareness Week
Widely available new episodes from Monday
Anthems is an excellent manifesto-setting series that switches to one-on-one intimate discussions for its collection of five episodes celebrating Transgender Awareness Week. Sex Education’s Felix Mufti and West End actor Mika Onyx talk trans stories on screen and stage (“I do not want to tell another trans sob story,” says Mufti), while activists Charlie Craggs and Kenny Ethan Jones chat about surgery and queer joy spaces such as Pussy Palace. Hollie Richardson

Today in Focus

Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings

The Upside

A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad

When Herb, 59, and Scott, 60, met in the US air force during the 1980s, they instantly connected. “We had lots of interests in common and both felt different to our colleagues,” says Herb in this week’s edition of the Guardian’s How we met series.

The two never meant to get into a romantic relationship – at this time it was prohibited to be gay in the armed forces – but the heart wants what it wants, and the two decided to date.

Their relationship was eventually found out and the pair were split up, and each assigned to Japan and South Carolina. The distance meant contact was cut – until 2022, when the death of Herb’s father spurred the two to rekindle their relationship. Now they face a new challenge: navigating how to welcome each other back into their lives after so long.

Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday

Bored at work?

And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until Monday.

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