Revealed: UK coastguard downgraded 999 calls from refugees in days before mass drowning

Investigation finds evidence that many calls received prior to 2021 Channel disaster were treated as less urgent

UK coastguards downgraded 999 calls from refugees pleading for help as they headed to England days before the worst Channel disaster for decades, new internal documents reveal.

HM Coastguard potentially breached its own policy by categorising 999 calls from distressed passengers on as many as four small boats carrying 155 people as not in need of urgent rescue, according to analysis of incident logs obtained by the Observer and Liberty Investigates.