Kieran Kelly
Live reporter

Proceedings are under way in Canterbury Crown Court, where two men - Mohammad Tajik, 32, and Alnour Mohamed Ali, 27 - are the first to be sentenced after they were both convicted of endangering others during a sea crossing to the UK.

This is the first time anyone is being sentenced for the new offence and, though they pleaded guilty to separate incidents, they are side by side in the dock.

Here's what we've heard so far

Alnour Mohamed Ali

• The court heard how Ali, a Sudanese national, piloted an “extremely crowded” vessel on the morning of April 9 – 74 people were on board, many of which did not have life jackets and were dangling their legs off the side of the vessel
• The judge intervened to ask the Crown Prosecution Service to make clear that the allegations against Ali did not include the “tragic deaths” of four people who died trying to reach the boat he was piloting - and he should not be sentenced in relation to the deaths
• Defending Ali, barrister Paul Hogben told the court that Ali was not paid to steer the boat and was ordered to do so by armed smugglers

Mohammad Tajik

• Meanwhile, the court was shown footage of Tajik piloting a packed dinghy, which had departed from France in the early hours of 17 January. In the footage, he can be seen at the tiller, which is used to steer the vessel
• Tajik’s barrister Niall Doherty told the court how his client witnessed his father and brother being killed by the Taliban, and how he fled Afghanistan fearing similar persecution
• Doherty then asked the judge for a maximum sentence of 12 months given Tajik’s guilty plea

We'll continue to bring you the latest once proceedings resume shortly.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Proceedings here at Canterbury Crown Court are pausing now.

We expect to be back at around 12:00.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The court is now being played footage of the small boat Ali has admitted piloting across the English Channel.

Dozens of people can be seen practically on top of one another in the extremely crowded vessel, the majority of whom are not wearing life jackets.

Ali, the court is told, can be seen with his hand on the tiller at the back of the boat.

A French rescue vessel is seen pulling up alongside the small boat and handing out life jackets.

Many of those on board, the vast majority of whom appear to be adult males, are clinging on to the edges of the boat with one leg dangling in the water.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Defending Alnour Mohamed Ali, barrister Paul Hogben says his client was born in a village in the Darfur region of Sudan. He and his parents, three brothers and six sisters, were forced to flee by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the civil war because they are not Arabs, and his village had been destroyed.

He left in 2019 and stayed in Libya, where he was imprisoned without cause on two occasions and suffered torture, including being starved and cut with a bayonet.

Ali has had no contact with his family for over a year because of the war and has no idea whether his parents or sibling are still alive, the court is told.

He was not paid to steer the boat, his barrister says, and was ordered to pilot the boat by armed smugglers before they embarked.

Ali had no knowledge of reports of four deaths prior to the crossing he was involved in, and only became aware of the deaths when he reached the UK.

Hogben says there has been "misreporting" of Ali's case and accuses British authorities of "wrongly informing the media" that he was charged in relation to the deaths, which has had "severe repercussions" on his client.

He refers to a National Crime Agency press release which referenced the four deaths, alongside a picture of Ali, which he describes as "defamatory" and damaging, before asking the judge to take that into account during sentencing.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

More from Mohammad Tajik's barrister now.

Niall Doherty says Tajik played no part in organising the crossing and took control mid-journey because the original pilot had stopped steering it.

He made no financial gain from piloting the boat, the court hears.

Doherty says his client knows a custodial sentence is "inevitable" but argues for no more than 12 months when taking into account his early guilty plea.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent, at Canterbury Crown Court

Mohammad Tajik’s defence barrister is explaining to the court that he only came to the UK because he had been fleeing for his life - after the Taliban had murdered his brother and father.

Tajik is said to have been significantly traumatised by witnessing the murders and wanted to seek safety in Europe.

He first went to Iran and then from there to Europe, entering at Greece. There, the authorities refused him asylum - and he moved on to France and then ultimately the UK. Critics of a tough approach to dinghy arrivals say point to cases like this one as examples of why there need to be more safe and legal routes for people to seek safety in the UK.

But their critics in turn point out that Tajik passed through a series of European nations where he could have been given safety first.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

We're now hearing from Tajik's barrister, Niall Doherty. He tells the court Mohammad Tajik grew up in Afghanistan, where his wife and 10-year-old son still live.

He tells the court that around 10 years ago, members of the Taliban approached his father and asked him to place a "yellow powder" into food served to soldiers visiting his family's restaurant.

Doherty says his client's father refused because of the likely fatal consequences to the soldiers, so both his father and brother were shot dead by the Taliban in front of him.

Fearing he would also be targeted, he left Afghanistan intending to seek asylum.

The defendant had a long route leading to his arrival in the UK, the barrister says. He worked in Iran, then travelled to Greece - where an asylum claim was refused. He eventually travelled through Europe to France.

Tajik has no ties to the UK, the court hears, and has struggled emotionally since the significant trauma of witnessing the deaths of his father and brother.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent, at Canterbury Crown Court

If someone has arrived in the UK for the first time and not been deported, the maximum sentence is five years.

If they had already arrived in the UK, were deported and then breached that order to return, the sentence can rise to six years.

Both of those sentences are over the threshold for deportation again from the UK - and the government has changed the rules to speed up the deportation of offenders so it comes earlier in the sentence than used to be the case.

The judge intervenes to ask about reports of four people - two men and two women - dying trying to reach the boat Alnour MohamedAli was piloting.

He says there is "no suggestion" Ali should be held accountable for the "tragic death" of others, and asks the prosecutor to make that clear in court.

The CPS prosecutor confirms the deaths are not part of the allegation facing Ali, and that he should not be sentenced in relation to the deaths.

In essence, the prosecution is telling the judge they do not consider Ali responsible for any deaths, and are not arguing any deaths should be taken into account when the judge calculates his sentence.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Outlining the case against Alnour Mohamed Ali, the prosecutor tells the court the Sudanese national was involved in a crossing at around 07:00 BST on 9 April.

A number of people emerged from the dunes to try and board the boat off the coast of France, Bunting tells the court.

There were 74 people onboard the "extremely crowded" vessel, including Ali - to the extent some passengers, several of whom did not have life jackets, were dangling their legs in the water off the side off the craft, the court hears.

The nine meter long boat was intercepted around four hours later in international waters and seized once it arrived in the UK, when investigators discovered it was dangerously under-inflated. Just 19 life jackets were found on the vessel.

Ali was arrested the next day and denied being the pilot, but later pleaded guilty.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent, at Canterbury Crown Court

While the circumstances of these two cases are different, Judge Simon James, the Recorder of Canterbury, has brought them together to be sentenced alongside each other because they both concern this new offence of endangering others at sea.

This sometimes happens when new offences have been charged for the first time.

It allows an experienced judge to look at the different factors of each incident and to hand down a range of sentences at the same time - in effect providing some ad hoc initial guidelines for other judges who will have to deal with other such cases in the future.

When Parliament sets a maximum sentence, it’s then up to judges in crown courts - and the Court of Appeal - to rule on what type of incident and offender where the most severe sentence should apply, and in which cases it is in the interests of justice to be more lenient.

That means lawyers can give a clearer indication to future defendants about what they should expect to receive.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service

Outlining the prosecution's case, Daniel Bunting says Mohammad Tajik is a 32-year-old Afghan national.

On 17 January, he left France on a small boat in the early hours, when some swell and fog reduced visibility at sea.

The court is played drone footage of the packed dinghy Tajik was on board, in which dozens of people can be seen sitting along the edges of the vessel.

In the footage he can be seen at the back of the boat at the tiller, which is used to steer the vessel.

The boat was eventually intercepted at around midday by a UK Border Force boat, the court hears.

Tajik and the other people on the boat were taken ashore at Dover and he was arrested the next day, during which he told police he had unsuccessfully attempted to claim asylum in Greece before travelling to the UK.

The prosecutor says Tajik distanced himself from the tiller of the boat as rescuers approached.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Earlier official communications have referred to one of today's defendant's as Tajik Mohammad.

However, we're now told there was an error and his name his actually Mohammad Tajik.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Recorder Simon James explains to the defendants they will be sentenced separately but have been asked to attend court together due to similarities between their cases.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

Both defendants are now side by side in the dock in identical grey prison-issue sweatshirts.

Interpreters are being sworn in and proceedings are about to begin.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent, at Canterbury Crown Court

The new crime of endangering someone at sea is a really important element of the government’s plan to counter small boat crossings - since it came into force in April, some 15 people have already been charged with the offence which can lead to up to six years in jail.

The starting point for suspecting someone of committing the crime is when they begin a journey to the UK from France, Belgium or The Netherlands knowing they didn’t have permission to do so.

They commit the crime if they cause or create a risk of death or serious injury to others even if they did not intend to do so.

Finally the law requires the suspect to have actually done something to endanger another.

The most obvious example would be taking the tiller of a dinghy and ploughing on into dangerous seas when it is obvious the boat is not safe.

In these first cases, Taijk's act was to let go of the steering when he saw a rescue boat coming. That left the dinghy out of control - endangering all onboard.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

We're expecting things to get under way at Canterbury Crown Court shortly after 10:00 BST.

Both Alnour Mohamed Ali and Mohammad Tajik will be sentenced in the same court during separate hearings.

Mohammad Tajik, 32, an Afghan migrant, was the first person to be convicted of the new offence after piloting a small boat on 17 January this year - he abandoned the dinghy when a rescue ship arrived, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Separately, Alnour Mohamed Ali, 27, a Sudanese national, was charged with endangering life after two men and two women died while trying to board a small boat he was piloting in France on 9 April.

They have both admitted the offences they are charged with, so today we will find out what sentence they will receive.

The two men will become the first people to be sentenced under a new law designed to target people accused of being in charge of dangerous small boat crossings.

We'll bring you updates live from court - stay with us.

The endangering others during a sea journey offence carries a maximum sentence of either:

• five years imprisonment or a fine - or both
• six years imprisonment or fine, or both, can apply to individuals who knowingly entered the UK in breach of a deportation order as part of committing the offence

Both Tajik and Ali have pleaded guilty to breaking the law and will be sentenced this morning.

Image source, PA Media

Between 1 January and 3 June 2026, a total of 9,142 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 38% on the same period the previous year.

These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.

Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.

Small boat arrivals made up 42% of asylum applications between April 2025 to March 2026.

Boats that arrived in the UK from 4 June 2025 to 3 June 2026 carried an average of 65 people. This has more than doubled since 2021.

Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).

The government has pledged to "smash the gangs" behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 introduced a new criminal offence of endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK from France, Belgium or the Netherlands.

This offence came into force in January and is aimed at preventing unsafe small boat crossings.

The government says it has been introduced to "address acts that cause or risk the serious personal injury or death of another during small boat crossings to the UK, and in turn to reduce the risk of injury and fatality during these crossings".

For the offence to apply, three things must all have happened:

• The person must have arrived in the UK via a journey by water from France, Belgium or the Netherlands
• They must have knowingly entered the UK in breach of a deportation order, or without leave or valid entry clearance, if either were required by immigration law
• At any point during the journey they must have committed an act that caused, or created a risk of, death or serious injury to another person, which includes both physical and psychological injuries

It's expected that this journey would usually be in a small boat, but it's the journey by water that matters not the mode of transport or number of boats used.

If the boat is intercepted before reaching the UK, the offence still applies if it is brought to UK shores - but not if it is returned to the country it departed from, even if a dangerous act occurs.