Sudanese man charged with piloting small boat carrying migrants across Channel from France to Britain

A Sudanese man has been charged with endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK following a small boat crossing.

Chan Mathok Atak, aged 19, from South Sudan, is alleged to have piloted a boat from France to the UK on Thursday.

He has been remanded into custody.

Atak will appear at Margate Magistrates' Court on Monday.

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The boat, allegedly piloted by Atak, crossed in during Andy Burnham's opening week as Prime Minister.

The Labour leader saw 881 people make the illegal crossing of the English Channel in small boats in his first week in No10, with hundreds more reaching British shores today.

Authorities have described the surge as a notable change in smuggling patterns, claiming criminal networks have shifted their approach.

Criminal networks have shifted their approach this week, packing greater numbers of migrants into each vessel while reducing the total number of boats dispatched.

Refugee organisations have simultaneously raised alarm over what they characterise as aggressive new policing methods on French beaches that are "putting migrant lives at risk".

People smugglers are said to be packing greater numbers of migrants into each vessel while reducing the total number of boats dispatched.

They have also been described as having made a deliberate move away from the heavily policed areas around Dunkirk and Calais, instead sending their boats from departure points significantly further south along the French coastline.

This geographical shift is designed to circumvent the strengthened law enforcement presence in the traditional launching zones.

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A Home Office spokesman said: "Smuggling gangs are taking greater risks than ever with the number of people they are cramming into unseaworthy boats rising year on year.

"This crossing serves as a stark reminder that criminal gangs have no regard for the safety of those they claim to help - the reality is clear and lives are being lost in the Channel as a result.

"This is exactly why we have signed a new deal with the French to prevent these perilous journeys by boosting enforcement action on beaches, building on the over 45,000 attempted crossings stopped since the election."

New polling has revealed more than three in five Britons believe Andy Burnham cannot put a stop to the small boats.

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