Boat Pilots Ferrying Illegal Immigrants to UK Face Life Imprisonment

A view of one of two areas being used for boats intercepted in the English Channel by the UK's Border Force at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, on July 27, 2021. Gareth Fuller/PA

Helmsmen of the small boats bringing illegal immigrants to the British shore can face life sentences, the Home Office said on Tuesday as parts of the new Nationality and Borders Act takes effect.

Under the new law, those who assist unlawful immigrants entering the UK will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment instead of 14 years.