Children crossing Channel from France exposed to teargas, report says | Immigration and asylum

Children and babies coming to the UK on small boats from northern France have been teargassed and subjected to tactics such as the discharge of rubber bullets and the slashing of dinghies with knives, according to a report.

The publication on Tuesday of We Want to Be Safe, by the French non-governmental organisation Project Play, came as the latest figures on daily crossings released by the UK government reached an all-time high of 19,982 for the first six months of the year, a 40% increase compared with the same period last year.

This increase has taken place despite repeated pledges by the Labour government to “smash the gangs”.

The Project Play report says that although French authorities, funded by the UK government to the tune of tens of millions of euros, have increased…