Urgent Call for Major Law Change to Expose the Truth Behind Channel and Asylum Deaths
MP Nadia Whittome has called for a new law that would force the Home Office to reveal the number of deaths in the asylum system, including those who perish while trying to cross the Channel. The Labour backbencher is pushing for greater transparency and insists every asylum tragedy must be acknowledged and learned from.
The call comes after 2024 saw the deadliest year on record for small boat crossings, with at least 14 children among the 87 reported deaths during the perilous journey to the UK. Whittome, who represents Nottingham East, said, “The bare minimum we owe to people killed while asking for our protection is to record and remember their lives, prevent future deaths, and end this deadly legacy of dehumanisation”, reported the Mirror.
She added, “After arriving, people have died in camps, hotels, and on our streets. Among these tragedies were preventable deaths, deaths by suicide, and of infectious disease.” Whittome pointed the finger at successive Conservative governments, arguing their policies have created a system designed to “deter and dehumanise” refugees. “We’re counting the cost now, in the lives of human beings who have been forgotten amid endless talk of ‘stopping the boats,'” she said.
Over a dozen MPs have supported Whittome’s proposal, calling for the Home Secretary to publish quarterly data on asylum seekers’ deaths, including the cause of death if it’s known. “People are more than statistics, but right now, we don’t even have those,” Whittome said. She’s seeking to amend the Government’s Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.
The Home Office has confirmed that 51 people died in Home Office-provided accommodation last year, with nine suspected suicides. According to Nathan Phillips, head of campaigns at Asylum Matters, “The figures we have show that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for people seeking asylum in the UK – what’s worse is that we know these figures are almost certainly an underestimate.”
Phillips continued, “People who should have found sanctuary in this country have died by suicide, died from preventable diseases, died because of our hostile border policies. Each one of these deaths is an appalling tragedy that must be acknowledged, mourned, and learned from.” He stressed that until the government understands how and why people are dying, it cannot hope to prevent further tragedies.
The Missing Migrants Project estimates that 82 people died crossing the Channel last year – more than three times higher than the 24 deaths recorded in 2023. Among the young victims was seven-year-old Sara Al Ashimi from Iraq, who tragically died in a crush as people crowded onto a boat in Calais. Another heartbreaking case involved baby Maryam Bahez, just over a month old, who slipped from her father’s hands on a dangerously packed boat in October.
In response, a Home Office spokesperson said they are committed to tackling the smuggling gangs responsible for putting lives at risk, stressing that through their Plan for Change, they will ramp up efforts to end the use of asylum hotels and restore order to the asylum system. However, critics argue that without proper transparency and data, it’s impossible to prevent further loss of life.
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