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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Millie Cooke

French police ‘slash small boats with knives’ to prevent Channel crossings

French police have reportedly begun slashing small boats with knives as part of an attempt to stop them from making the dangerous journey across the Channel.

Downing Street said the new tactics mark a “significant moment”, saying the change in approach has come as a result of Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts to “reset” relations with Europe.

Yvette Cooper welcomed the action, but called for French officials to go even further and implement “broader action” to stop the crossings.

Families and children board a small boat on July 02, 2025 in Gravelines, France (Getty Images)

Responding to a report from the BBC’s Today programme that officers had slashed at a boat with a knife while it was in shallow waters off the French coast, the home secretary said: “That is a different strategy, and that is welcome that it’s taking action in the shallow waters, but we want broader action.

“But this is something that will take time to implement, but is on its way going through the French system at the moment.

“I want to see this happen as urgently as possible, and I think the French interior minister does as well.”

The prime minister’s official spokesperson added: “We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.

“We are seeing new tactics being used to disrupt these boats before they begin their journey and, together with every other lever that the government is pulling, we think this can have a major impact on shutting down the tactics these gangs use.”

But they refused to guarantee that the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats would fall next year.

It comes just days after new figures showed that a record number of people have crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year, despite Sir Keir’s pledge to “smash” the smuggling gangs.

The home secretary called for the prosecution of all individuals arriving in the UK on a small boat if a child has died.

She it was "totally appalling" that children were being "crushed to death on these overcrowded boats, and yet the boat still continues to the UK".

Ms Cooper further insisted: "Everybody who is arriving on a boat where a child's life has been lost, frankly, should be facing prosecution, either in the UK or in France."

It comes as the government is already introducing a new offence of "endangering life at sea" within the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, currently making its way through Parliament.

Ms Cooper has previously said this would allow the authorities to act against people "involved in behaviour that puts others at risk of serious injury or death, such as physical aggression, intimidation, or rejecting rescue attempts".

But on Friday, she appeared to go further by suggesting even getting on an overcrowded boat could result in prosecution.

She said: "If you've got a boat where we've seen all of those people all climb on board that boat, they are putting everybody else's lives at risk."

Some 15 children died trying to cross the Channel last year, prompting charity Project Play to warn that conditions were becoming "more dangerous" for young people.

Advocacy co-ordinator Kate O'Neill, based in northern France, blamed policies aimed at preventing crossings for the increasing risk.

She told the PA news agency: "Ultimately the children we're meeting every day are not safe.

"They're exposed to a level of violence, whether it's they are directly victims of it or the witness.

"We're ultimately at all times putting out fires... the underlying issue is these policies of border securitisation... that are creating more and more barriers to child safety and child protection."

She added: "The smash-the-gangs narrative is not effective and it's harmful because ultimately the only way to put the gangs out of business is to cut the need for them."

Meanwhile, Ms O'Neill said French police were already intervening in crossing attempts in shallow waters despite the changes to the rules to allow this having not yet come into force.

She said: "This is not a new tactic... it's something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas.

"My feeling is that this is increasing based on the number of testimonies we're receiving from children and their families recently.

"It's really dangerous because the children often are in the middle of the boats."

Ms Cooper also declined to confirm reports the UK was looking at a "one in, one out" policy that would see people who had crossed the Channel returned to Europe in exchange for asylum seekers with connections to Britain.

Asked about the policy, she would only tell Sky News that ministers were "looking at a range of different issues" and "different ways of doing returns".

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