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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Rachael Burford

Teenager charged with piloting small boat to UK as over 640 migrants make trip in Burnham's first week as PM

A teenager has been charged with piloting a small boat across the Channel from France to the UK.

Sudanese national Chan Mathok Atak, 19, is accused of endangering another during a journey by sea on Thursday.

Atak, from South Sudan, has been remanded in custody and will appear at Margate Magistrates’ Court on Monday, the National Crime Agency said.

It comes as Home Office figures show 366 people arrived after crossing in three boats on Thursday during warm, sunny weather and calm conditions at sea.

In Andy Burnham’s first week as Prime Minister 641 migrants have made the perilous journey from France to Britain.

This includes a record 165 migrants who reached the UK in a single boat.

The number broke the previous record from July, when 128 crossed in one vessel.

Between 2018 and 2025 a total of 162 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in small boats, according to the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory.

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