French plans to stop small boats will lead to more deaths, says charity

French charity to challenge new Channel migrant interception plans in European courts

Plans by French police to enter the sea to stop small boats carrying UK-bound asylum seekers willcause more deaths and be challenged in the European courts, a French charity has said.

Arthur Dos Santos, the coordinator of the refugee charity Utopia 56, said there would be an increase in the number of people who would take “desperate” measures to reach the UK.

The official, based in Calais, said the charity was examining the possibility of a legal challenge in the European courts to stop the tactics.

Government sources have told the Guardian that French police would be authorised to tackle boats within 300 metres of the shore and in nearby waterways.