A teenager believed to be the first person to be charged with endangering others during a sea crossing to the UK without valid entry clearance said he was “forced to do so”.
Aman Naseri, 18, is accused of piloting a small boat with 46 people on board during the first Channel crossing of the year on 5 January, the day the new law came into force.
At Margate Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to the offence.
Naseri, who is an Afghan national and followed proceedings through a Dari interpreter, has been remanded into custody to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.