Deaths of 31 people in UK’s worst small boat disaster caused by government’s ‘systemic failure' – the Cranston inquiry conclusions explained
The deaths of at least 31 people in the Channel on November 24 2021 were “avoidable”, an independent inquiry has found. The final report of the Cranston inquiry highlights known problems at HM Coastguard that were not resolved, calling them a “significant, systemic failure on the part of government”, which led to this crossing becoming Britain’s deadliest small boat disaster.
The report points blame at the people smugglers who “provided an unsuitable craft and inadequate safety equipment” for the crossing, as well as the French navy for failing to respond to a mayday alert.
Most of its criticisms, however, were reserved for HM Coastguard’s flawed search and rescue operation and other systemic problems, despite failings attributable to individual officers.
These findings vindicate the accounts of the two survivors, rescued from the sea more than 12 hours after calling for help. It also vindicates family members of the deceased who first raised the coastguard’s failings immediately after the disaster. The bereaved families and survivors have held all along that the tragedy was “preventable”.
The incident
The night of November 23 to 24, a dinghy with at least 33 people on board began taking on water in the middle of the Channel. Some travellers tried to bail the freezing water out and keep the rubber tubes inflated. Others made desperate calls for help.
Neither French nor British coastguards took enough responsibility for coordinating an effective rescue. Transcripts revealed that travellers were at one point told by British call-handlers they must be in French waters and should call the French coastguard instead, after the time when formal responsibility for search and rescue had passed to the British coastguard. Teenager Mubin Rizghar Hussein, who was aboard the boat, was told that a rescue ship was on its way but that he needed to “be patient” and stop calling.
By the time the Border Force ship arrived to the sinking dinghy’s last known location, it had drifted away. Other small boats in the area were rescued instead and the distress calls stopped once the dinghy capsized.
Read more: ‘We were treated like animals’: the full story of Britain’s deadliest small boat disaster
Public inquiries are usually convened quickly after such disastrous incidents. But the fact that the British government initially refused to accept that the sinking occurred in UK waters delayed an accountability process.
Survivors and bereaved families fought hard for accountability, and the Cranston inquiry was ultimately commissioned in January 2024 by the Department for Transport.
Over four weeks of public hearings in March 2025, officers involved in the UK’s search and rescue response gave oral evidence. One survivor, Issa Mohamed Omar, and members of the grieving families also gave evidence. After three years, they were given the chance for their voices to be heard.
Systemic failures
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency asserted in its closing statement that “the real causes” of the shipwreck were factors outside HM Coastguard’s control. The inquiry rejected this, finding that a number of problems at the agency contributed to the deaths.
These included chronic staffing issues at Dover’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, inadequate supervision and insufficient remote assistance for coastguard officers. The inquiry also pointed to the lack of training for call-handlers, who widely believed that travellers on small boats “exaggerated their level of distress”.
“Flawed decisions” by several coastguard staff involved in the search and rescue operations were also criticised in the report. In particular, this included not treating the information received from those onboard the sinking dinghy “at face value”. The inquiry found that short staffing at the Dover centre led to there being only one fully qualified staff member on duty the night of the incident, who was unable to take a break during the shift, and left “feeling overwhelmed and fatigued.”
Decisions made in that context ultimately led to the search being called off prematurely, meaning no one in the UK was searching for the people who were perishing in the cold waters of the Channel throughout the morning.
The inquiry finally highlighted the failure of the French response. When the coastguard at Dover broadcast a mayday relay for the sinking dinghy which mandated all ships to respond, the French warship Flamant — approximately 15 minutes away — ignored the request. Had the Flamant responded, “many more and possibly all lives would have been saved”, the report said.
There is an ongoing criminal investigation into the French warship and coastguard officers.
Deadlier crossings since
The inquiry’s investigation focused on offering “truth” for the families regarding what happened to their loved ones. Its recommendations therefore focused on improving search and rescue operations to prevent the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again, not to consider small boat crossings more generally.
The inquiry noted that “much has improved since November 2021”, but still people continue to die in the Channel. Despite increased surveillance, improved communications technology and more rescue ships, an unprecedented 82 people were reported to have died in 2024. At least 24 deaths were reported last year.
Monitoring organisations have pointed out that, beyond the inherent danger of small boat journeys, “stop the boats” policies have led to more overcrowding and chaotic launches of dinghies – with more deaths as a result. Specifically they highlight the £500 million agreement with France, introduced by the former Conservative government, which has paid for 500 more French police to patrol the coast. The assumption that preventing boats from leaving French shores will “save lives” is, however, a mistaken one.
Many of the deadly incidents since 2021 have occurred on the beaches and in the shallow waters just off the French coast as police try and stop dinghies from launching. What the then Labour home secretary, Yvette Cooper described in 2024 as heroic efforts to prevent crossings were recognised by France’s interior minister as also leading to an increase in deaths.
As constructive as the inquiry’s report is for improving search and rescue for small boats in the Channel, it has not grappled with this changed context. So long as the UK’s border controls in Europe exist, Channel deaths will continue, even if government agencies implement all the inquiry’s recommendations.
Travis Van Isacker receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) (Grant Ref: ES/W002639/1).