In 2024 and 2025, 22 children lost their lives at the UK-France border.
These deaths did not happen in isolation. The UK government will have spent at least £1.44 billion funding border enforcement in northern France since 2014, including a new figure announced in April 2026 of £662 million – while at the same time restricting and removing access to safe routes to asylum.
STOP BORDER VIOLENCE is a new campaign from Humans for Rights Network, Project Play and Asylum Matters calling for an inquiry into how UK funding at the border in northern France has contributed to increasing state violence and fatalities.