A Swansea man has been found guilty of smuggling seven migrants in a tiny hidden compartment of a van – which left one man suffering a “life-limiting” stroke.
Jurors unanimously found that Anas al Mustafa, 43, smuggled the six men and one woman in a specially adapted van with a hidden compartment that travelled on board a ferry between Dieppe, in France, and Newhaven, East Sussex, on 16 February.
Image: Anas Al Mustafa at a previous apperace at court
The court heard how the crew on the Seven Sisters ship heard screaming from inside a van on deck. The crew used an axe to break down the fake partition inside hiding the people who were being starved of oxygen.
Image: The specially constructed hiding area in the van
Prosecutor Nick Corsellis KC said the hidden compartment measured two metres across and 194cm tall but just 37cm in narrow width – which forced the migrants to stand.
They could not move to any meaningful degree and were not provided with water, the prosecutor told al Mustafa’s trial.
Two of the migrants had lost consciousness by the time they were rescued.
Image: The van driven by Anas al Mustafa
An Australian nurse and passenger on the ferry, Sari Gehle, responded to a call to assist the crew and described the female casualty as “terrified”, gripping her arm tightly and repeatedly saying: “Vietnam, Vietnam” – so she understood the group were from there.
She said that the other male casualties were on the floor, with one vomiting, and another with a cut across his left shoulder.
After the verdict, Mr Corsellis told the court that while the younger migrants recovered from the dehydration and heat, one man had a possible heart attack, one woman had acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.
Speaking after the verdict, Chris Foster, the Home Office’s criminal investigations regional lead for London and south, said: “Frankly, how somebody didn’t die I don’t really know.
He added that the stroke was believed to be “a direct result of being held in that van and, even today, now, he has difficulty walking and he suffers with memory loss”.
Mr Corsellis had earlier said: “The heat created by seven people in such a small space and the lack of sufficient air/oxygen had created a highly dangerous situation.
“It was no doubt this mortal emergency that forced the migrants to call for help in desperation.”
Image: The ferry Seven Sisters at Newhaven ferry port after migrants were found in the back of a lorry. File pic: PA
Father-of-two al Mustafa had denied assisting unlawful immigration to the UK, saying the day the migrants were found was the “most difficult” of this life.
Speaking through an Arabic interpreter, he told Lewes Crown Court: “I was in a situation where the shock was too massive I was almost out of consciousness.”
Al Mustafa, who is originally from Syria but moved to the UK in 2011, told the court he was paid £500 by a man he met in Syria to drive the van to Liverpool to get an MOT.
Ms Gehle said one person “stood out” during the discovery.
She described them as an Asian man with a puffer jacket who was “sitting on the ground seemingly scrolling through his mobile telephone”. He was “remarkably calm”, in Ms Gehle’s view.
The prosecutor identified that man as al Mustafa.
The self-employed construction worker will be sentenced on 6 September.
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The government said that al Mustafa’s conviction sent a “clear message” to people traffickers.
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “This appalling incident could have easily ended in tragedy and everyone who was squashed inside this criminal’s van is incredibly lucky to still be alive.
“We are sending a clear message that we will not tolerate this sort of life-threatening activity.
“Our new Border Security Command will work with partners across Europe to smash the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs and halt their activities long before they reach the UK.”
The team’s open-top bus will travel along The Mall from 12.10pm.
It will end with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, which is expected to start at roughly 12.30pm and end at 1pm, the Football Association (FA) announced.
The Royal Marines Portsmouth band and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will perform on the stage and highlights from the tournament will be shown on big screens.
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Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was one of those who asked the prime minister if it was “time for that bank holiday”.
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He was referring to comments made by Sir Keir in 2023. When, as leader of the opposition, he wrote on X that there “should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.
But with estimates suggesting an extra bank holiday would cost the economy £2.4bn, it’s understood such a move isn’t being planned by Downing Street.
‘There is no stopping them now’
The impact of the Lionesses second consecutive Euros title is already being felt across the UK.
At Bearsted Football Club in Maidstone, Kent, a mural of Alessia Russo, who levelled Sunday’s final with a goal in the 56th minute, has been unveiled.
Image: Alessia Russo scoring the levelling goal. Pic: Reuters
The club is where Russo first started playing, and chairman Jamie Houston told Sky News the Lionesses have helped transform the women’s game.
“Five years ago we never had a girl’s football team,” he told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone. “Now we have five separate teams for girls, and boys are accepting of more girls in the game.
“There is no stopping them now.”
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Lynda Hale, who played in the England squad in the first ever international women’s match against Scotland in 1972, reiterated that women’s football has changed drastically since she played.
“When I first started playing there was hardly anyone that would watch,” she told Sky News Breakfast.
“To put on the England shirt and think what we started has grown to this magnitude, and it is still going to grow, is absolutely fantastic. I think the sky’s the limit in women’s football.”
Asked what advice she would have for the current England squad after their win, Ms Hale said: “The girls need to make as many memories as they can and take everything in their stride.”
The suspect in the fatal shooting of a mother and her two children in Northern Ireland has died.
Ian Rutledge, a 43-year-old agricultural worker, had himself suffered a gunshot wound during the attack in the village of Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh on Wednesday morning.
He was taken to hospital where he remained in a serious condition until the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced he had died on Monday evening.
It is understood he was the only suspect in the murder investigation.
Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from County Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, were all shot dead at a property on Drummeer Road during the attack.
The PSNI said last week that all four people who were shot were members of the same household.
Police have been investigating whether the attack was a triple murder and attempted suicide.
A prayer service took place for Ms Whyte and the two children in Barefield, County Clare on Sunday, following a community vigil in Maguiresbridge last Friday.
A funeral service is expected to take place in County Clare later this week.
Following Mr Rutledge’s death, the PSNI said detectives have “reiterated their appeal for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward”.
It comes after the PSNI issued an appeal on Saturday for information involving the movements of a vehicle.
They have asked anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday 22 July to call detectives on 101.
Image: A police cordon was in place close to the scene last week. Pic: PA
Tributes paid to ‘lovely-natured’ children
A local Gaelic football club said last week that Ms White and her children were all “active and beloved” members of their club.
Sara and James Rutledge also used to be part of a local cricket club, which said in a statement that it was “extremely saddened by the tragic events”.
“Both of them turned out to be talented young cricketers and two absolutely lovely-natured children,” the statement read.
Flowers, teddy bears and an Arsenal football top with written notes were laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road in the days after the shooting.
Donald Trump has reignited his row with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after calling him a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.
During an hour-long news conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland, the US president hit out at the Labour mayor, who has responded with his own snipey remarks.
Asked if he would visit London during his state visit in September, Mr Trump said: “I will, I’m not a fan of your mayor, I think he’s done a terrible job.
“A nasty person, I think.”
The prime minister then interrupted and said: “He’s a friend of mine.”
But the president added: “I think he’s done a terrible job but I will certainly visit London, I hope so.”
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Sir Sadiq’s spokesperson then released a statement saying: “Sadiq is delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world.
“He’d see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer.
“Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Image: Sir Sadiq Khan was knighted in June. Pic: PA
They noted that Sir Sadiq has won three mayoral elections, including when Mr Trump lost the US election in 2020.
This is not the first time Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have locked horns.
Sir Sadiq then described Mr Trump as a “poster boy for racists”.
And in November 2024, after Mr Trump won his second term, Sir Sadiq said many Londoners would be “fearful” about what it would “mean for democracy”.
However, as Sir Keir tried to show diplomacy with Mr Trump after becoming PM, Sir Sadiq said he “wanted to work closely with the American president” ahead of his inauguration in January.
The London mayor said as somebody “who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States”.
But he added: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”