How to look for records of... Records of the Cranston Inquiry

How can I view the records covered in this guide?

How many are online?

  • Some

1. Why use this guide?

This guide sets out the context for records of the Cranston Inquiry that are held by The National Archives.

This guide will be updated as the records of the Inquiry are transferred and made available at The National Archives.

The Inquiry was set up to examine, consider and report on the events of 24 November 2021 when at least 27 people lost their lives while attempting to cross the Channel from France to the UK.

The Inquiry looked into who the deceased were, and when and where and in what circumstances they came by their deaths. The Inquiry also considered lessons learned and made recommendations to reduce the risk of a similar event occurring. During the course of the Inquiry the Chair considered the investigation already carried out into the incident by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

The focus for this guide is the records of the Inquiry that have been transferred to The National Archives having been selected by the Inquiry Chair in line with the Public Records Act and The National Archives’ Records Collection Policy. The content of the records has been managed within current information rights legislation.

2. Where to go for further support, if you have been affected by the content of these records and/or the incident

Records from the Cranston Inquiry include content that some people may find distressing. If you have been affected by these records, you can find useful advice on looking after your mental health and wellbeing on the NHS Every Mind Matters website and from the mental health charity Mind.

3. The independent Inquiry

The independent Inquiry was announced on 9 November 2023 by the Rt Hon Mark Harper, MP, Secretary of State for Transport following the publication of a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch into the incident.

On 11 January 2024, the Rt Hon Mark Harper, MP, Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Inquiry would be chaired by Sir Ross Cranston. The Inquiry was non-statutory and was therefore not subject to the Inquiries Act 2005 or the Inquiry Rules 2006.

The terms of reference were published on the Inquiry website and can also be found in the UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Terms of reference | The Cranston Inquiry

The opening hearing took place on 6 March 2024 and the preliminary hearing on 24 October 2024, with full hearings beginning on 3 March 2025 and ending on 27 March 2025.

The report of the Inquiry was published on 5 February 2026 https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20260206080837/https://cranston.independent-inquiry.uk/report/

The Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander, MP, provided the government initial response to the Inquiry report on 5th February 2026 in Parliament. Written statements – Written questions, answers and statements – UK Parliament

4. What are these records?

The records of the independent Cranston Inquiry have been through the process of appraisal, selection, and sensitivity review before being transferred to The National Archives for permanent preservation in line with the Public Records Act, following the direction and wishes of the Inquiry Chair.

On the recommendations of the Chair all evidence relied upon by the Inquiry in the course of its investigation, has been transferred to The National Archives for permanent preservation.

Evidence was received throughout the lifetime of the Inquiry and contributed to the Inquiry report. All documents received as evidence by the Inquiry which were deemed relevant to the terms of reference were disclosed to Full Participants in the Inquiry throughout its course. Evidence that was referred to in the Inquiry hearings or referenced in the Inquiry report or published on the Inquiry website was selected for permanent preservation. These records were selected by the Chair for permanent preservation and were transferred to The National Archives.

Some of the evidence predates the establishment of the Inquiry itself. Where physical documents with a document date on it were scanned and provided to the Inquiry in digital format, the date of the digital copy reflects the dates of the original records. Where there is no visible date on the scanned record, the Inquiry has used the date the document was uploaded to the Inquiry’s record management system as the document date.

While the Inquiry was using the evidence, it was managed within a document management system, and each document was given a unique reference number. The report, transcripts, and recordings of public hearings may use these unique reference numbers when referring to evidence. The unique reference numbers can also be used when searching The National Archives online catalogue or within the UK Government Web Archive.

The contents of the Inquiry website and the recordings of the Inquiry hearings on the Inquiry YouTube Channel have been captured in the UK Government Web Archive: Archive Timeline – UK Government Web Archive

Cranston Inquiry | Video Archive – UK Government Web Archive

5. Supporting sensitivity and transparency

As part of preparing its records for transfer to The National Archives, the Cranston Inquiry has undertaken a comprehensive review of the content of all records to ensure they are managed in line with information rights legislation.

All decisions to ‘close’ information, either in whole or in part (i.e. through withholding an item entirely, or through applying redactions) have been made in line with the exemptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Exemptions). ‘Closed’ information may include things like an individual’s personal data, as defined by data protection legislation, or material which might endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual if it were to be disclosed. Where information has been withheld this will be for a defined period of time and records will be reassessed at the end of this period to determine whether the closed or redacted content can be opened to the public. Where records have been closed, this is indicated at record level in our online catalogue.

Where the Inquiry has cited the name of an individual in the description field on The National Archives’ online catalogue the name may be used and is searchable in our online catalogue descriptions. This reflects the way that personal data was managed by the Inquiry and reflects the handling of names on the Inquiry website.

Because of the potentially distressing nature of some of these records, we have added an advisory note to the relevant online series descriptions and at individual records/pieces.

6. How to access records held at The National Archives

The records of the Cranston Inquiry can be accessed using The National Archives’ online catalogue. The records are held in digital format and (unless closed to public access) are available online.

The National Archives’ online catalogue will indicate the format of the record. If you need further help using our catalogue, please consult Discovery help.

Cranston Inquiry records are catalogued within the following series:

7. Inquiry report

The Inquiry report can be found in the UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives. For more details, visit the Archive Timeline on the UK Government Web Archive. Archive Timeline – UK Government Web Archive

The Inquiry published one report on 5 February 2026 (https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20260910200409/https://cranston.independent-inquiry.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/DFT_Cranston-inquiry-report_WEB.pdf) and made 18 recommendations.

The Secretary for Transport Heidi Alexander provided the government initial response to the Inquiry report on 5th February 2026 in Parliament. Written statements – Written questions, answers, and statements – UK Parliament

8. Other UK Government Web Archive resources

The UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives holds the following resources for the Cranston Inquiry.

The archived website of the Cranston Inquiry Archive Timeline – UK Government Web Archive

The National Archives holds the archived You tube account of the Cranston Inquiry – Cranston Inquiry | Video Archive – UK Government Web Archive

9. Other sources

A directory of UK archive services can be found on The National Archives website: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/find-an-archive