Our Joint Head of Chambers, Sonali Naik KC, provided a closing statement on behalf of full participants (bereaved families and one of the two survivors of the tragedy) instructed by Maria Thomas of Duncan Lewis Solicitors.
The Cranston Inquiry has been set up to look into the events of 24 November 2021, when at least 27 people lost their lives crossing the Channel.
Several Garden Court barristers are instructed in the Cranston Inquiry, including Sonali Naik KC, Nadia O’Mara, Alex Schymyck and Sophie Lucas.
Our Joint Head of Chambers, Sonali Naik KC, provided a closing statement on behalf of full participants (bereaved families and one of the two survivors of the tragedy) instructed by Maria Thomas of Duncan Lewis Solicitors. The Inquiry has heard four weeks of evidence.
The closing statement included the following comments:
“The tragedy of 24th of November was preventable and it should never have happened. But as the numbers of those risking their lives in crossing the channel exponentially from a handful in 2018, the Coastguard buried its head in the sand. The Home Office focused on deterrence and security, to the detriment of developing more effective search and rescue (SAR) capability, and both failed to meet the most basic and fundamental legal obligations to protect life at sea.
…Both the right to life under European Convention on Human Rights and the duty to ensure assistance under the Search and Rescue Convention must be discharged without discrimination. But we know from the evidence we heard, that the victims’ identities as migrants and as foreigners shaped the authorities response and the outcomes they faced, with tragic consequences.
…The response to small boats was permeated by an assumption from callers, that callers tended to exaggerate their level of distress…The pervasive and unchallenged nature of that belief was stark…We know that this stereotype not just infected but [also] affected the SAR responses…We know that small boats were not treated the same way that other boats in distress were.
…The authorities’ failure to take positive steps to address the different challenges small migrant boats presented when compared to conventional SAR taskings. That long-term systemic failing allowed discriminatory conduct to fester and endure.
…There are vital lessons to be learned from this tragedy, but in order to learn the lessons, the relevant state agencies and government departments must accept there were failings and why they occurred…
…One cannot escape the political context in which this tragedy occurred, the fixation on stopping small boats at all costs, an extension on the hostile environment on land, created by the Home Office in the past decade, to the sea, contributed to an environment which permits and sanctions discriminatory treatment. The daily diet of negative stereotypes in the media of migrants in this country breeds a pervasive and dehumanising culture.”
…We ask you to consider whether our clients were treated by the state authorities as deserving of equal respect and dignity by those responsible, both institutionally and individually.”
Watch the full closing statement below:
The Inquiry has received widespread news coverage:
