Kieran Kelly
Live reporter

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service

Two men have become the first to be convicted and jailed under a new small boat crossings law, brought into force in January.

Afghan national Mohammad Tajik, 32, has been handed a two-year prison sentence after piloting an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel on 17 January.

Footage showed Tajik steering a packed dinghy. His 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.

Sudanese national Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, was jailed for 27-months after steering an "extremely crowded" vessel in a separate journey on 9 April.

The court heard Ali piloted a vessel carrying 74 people – many of which did not have life jackets. Footage showed people dangling their legs off the side of the boat.

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service

Two men and two women died in the water while trying to reach the dinghy. The prosecution accepted their deaths should not be considered part of Ali's sentencing.

Barrister Paul Hogben told the court Ali was of good character and was ordered to steer the boat by armed people traffickers when he embarked.

In handing down the sentences, Judge Simon James said it has long been recognised the Channel crossing is "perilous, fraught with risk".

He added that these crossing undermine public safety and confidence in the immigration system. Today's sentences needed to act as a deterrent to others, he said.

We're ending our live coverage now. For more on this, head to our news story.

Mohammad Tajik and Alnour Mohamed Ali have become the first to be convicted and sentenced under a new offence brought into force in January: endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK from France, Belgium or the Netherlands.

Here's what we've heard from the key players following the sentences being handed down:

Sarah Dineley of the Crown Prosecution Service, says she is "pleased that we have the first endangerment sentences since the new law came into force earlier this year".

She adds that the photos of peoples' legs "dangling off the sides of crowded boats show just how dangerous these crossings are"

Steve Blackwell of Immigration Enforcement says "those piloting these flimsy and unseaworthy vessels endanger everyone on board".

He adds that the new endangerment offence is a "critical tool" and they will continue to investigate, detain and arrest pilots and smugglers behind Channel crossings.

Craig Turner, deputy director of the National Crime Agency, says "Ali piloted a dangerous boat that had more than 70 people on it".

"Combating the threat posed by the networks involved in organised immigration crime is one of our biggest priorities, and we currently have more than 100 investigations ongoing."

Mike Tapp, Migration and Citizenship Minister, says the government is "delivering a direct blow to the small boat gangs" and using "every lever at our disposal" to put those who bring illegal migrants to the UK to justice.

Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, is pictured here wearing a pink hat on board a small boat on 9 April.

This is a separate incident to the one involving Mohammad Tajik.

He has been jailed for 27 months in relation to the crossing attempt. Footage showed people clinging to the edge of the boat he was steering.

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has also released an image of Tajik on board the small boat he was piloting in the Channel on 17 January.

The dinghy is packed with people wearing life jackets, and their faces have been blurred by the CPS.

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service.

An image of Mohammad Tajik has been released by the Crown Prosecution Service, the first we have seen.

He was earlier sentenced to two years in prison for a new offence of endangering lives during a small boat crossing.

Image source, Crown Prosecution Service

Afghan national Mohammad Tajik, 32, piloted a packed dinghy from France to the UK in the early hours of 17 January. Footage showed in court today saw him steering the tiller on board the vessel.

He was handed a two-year prison sentence. As his sentence is over 12 months, he will be automatically considered for deportation by the Home Office.

In a separate incident, Sudanese national Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, piloted an "extremely crowded" vessel on the morning of April 9. Four people died trying to reach the boat, the prosecution accepted he was not responsible for those deaths, despite initial suggestions from investigators that he might have been.

He was handed a 27-month sentence. Ali will also be considered for deportation by the Home Office.

The maximum sentence the two men could have received was five years imprisonment, or six years if the defendant entered the UK in breach of a deportation order.

Image source, National Crime Agency

Alnour Mohamed Ali is sentenced to 27 months in prison.

As in the case of Tajik previously, the judge says the Home Office will independently decide whether he should be allowed to remain in the UK.

The judge begins sentencing Ali, and says at the outset that he is not here to be held responsible for the deaths of four people who drowned off the coast of France.

He says it has been made expressly clear by the prosecution that it is not the case that UK authorities consider him culpable for those deaths, and accuses Border Force of publishing "misinformation" about the case.

There is no evidence Ali had any knowledge, let alone responsibility, for others being injured or killed, the judge adds.

But the judge goes on to say that footage of the boat Ali pilot showed people "packed into every inch of available space", and they were left "at the mercy of the unpredictable sea" due to the dangerous unsuitability of the vessel he steered.

It was "down to luck and good fortune" that they were rescued before coming to serious harm.

Mohammad Tajik is sentenced to two years in prison.

The Home Office will separately decide whether he should be entitled to remain in the UK, the judge adds.

Turning to the case of Mohammad Tajik, the judge says he pleaded guilty at a very early stage and so he will receive a one-third reduction in his sentence on those grounds.

The judge says the boat was not significantly overcrowded but many people were not wearing life jackets.

He says Tajik let go of the tiller of his boat, resulting in it drifting around in circles, which increased the risk of those on board being endangered.

The judge says Tajik's case is at the medium end of the scale, as he did not pilot the boat for the entire journey or make a profit from doing so.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The judge goes on to say immediate imprisonment for these offences is necessary in order to deter others from piloting small boats.

The maximum sentence is five years imprisonment.

Recorder Simon James says a number of things must be considered when deciding on the length of any punishment, including how many people were on a boat or how long the journey took.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The judge says it is clear to him that those who pilot boats are also assisting others to gain illegal entry to the UK.

He says these crossing undermine public safety and confidence in the immigration system.

The offending causes considerable strain on already stretched public resources, while making significant profits for organised criminal gangs.

In light of those factors and ongoing public concern about small boats, he says today's sentence needs to act as a deterrent.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The judge explains that there is no precedent or clear guidelines for sentencing these new offences.

He accuses the Sentencing Council of failing to publish guidelines despite "understandable and seemingly increasing" public concern about small boats, which he says is "somewhat sub-optimal", before calling on the legal body to issue guidance as soon as possible.

The judge says he is not seeking to set a precedent himself today with the sentence he delivers.

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The judge, Recorder Simon James, begins his sentencing by saying it has long been recognised the Channel crossing is "perilous, fraught with risk".

As the frequency of such crossings increases, so have instances of tragedy, he says.

The dangers of seeking to navigate the busy shipping channel in a small boat are obvious, the judge tells the defendant - especially when there are no navigational aides, they are overcrowded and there is not adequate safety equipment.

Attempting to make the crossing with no regards to the weather condition increases the risk further.

Despite the best efforts of rescuers, injuries and death occur with "alarming regularity".

Sean Seddon
Reporting from Canterbury Crown Court

The judge is back in court, which means Mohammad Tajik and Alnour Mohamed Ali will be sentenced shortly.

Kieran Kelly
Live reporter

Proceedings are under way in Canterbury Crown Court, where two men - Mohammad Tajik, 32, and Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26 - 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 Alnour MohamedAli 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.