FOUR asylum-seekers who were jailed for helping to steer small boats across the channel won their appeal against their convictions today.  

The Court of Appeal has recognised that the Crown Court in Kent, where the men were convicted and sentenced, had made fundamental errors and quashed their convictions.

The court heard submissions that the defendants’ sole intention was to claim asylum in the UK, that they wished to make themselves known to authorities to do so, and that there was therefore no attempt at clandestine entry.