UK jails teen asylum seeker for steering overcrowded Channel migrant boat

A 19-year-old asylum seeker from South Sudan was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to endangering others by steering a small boat across the English Channel. Prosecutors said the vessel, about 14 metres long, carried 165 people on July 23 and that Atak was believed to have taken turns piloting it for at least 90 minutes before UK Border Force intercepted the craft. Court evidence described a boat with only one working engine and lacking navigation and first-aid equipment. The dinghy was reportedly deflating and slowly taking on water when it was stopped. The crossing involved 31 teenagers aged between 14 and 17; at the time it was the largest recorded single small-boat crossing until an August incident carrying 230 people. Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was sufficiently serious to require immediate custody and warned Atak could face automatic deportation after serving his sentence. Atak's lawyer argued there was no evidence tying him to decisions about the boat's occupancy or safety equipment and noted he is an asylum seeker who fled violence in South Sudan. The prosecution is part of enforcement under a new law enacted in January that specifically targets those who pilot boats that endanger passengers, distinct from older offences such as assisting unlawful immigration. Earlier convictions under the legislation in June saw an Afghan and a Sudanese national each jailed for at least two years. Government ministers have reiterated tougher lines on dangerous crossings, and recent arrivals have prompted public protests on England's south coast even as official figures show crossings since January are lower than in 2025.