Former Front National supporter escapes prison for helping smuggle Iranian partner into UK

A former supporter of the French anti-immigration Front National (FN) party has been found guilty of helping an Iranian man she met in a Calais refugee camp get into Britain.

Béatrice Huret escaped a prison sentence, which could have seen her serve up to ten years inside.

She was charged with assisting an illegal border crossing after she bought a boat for her partner, Mokhtar.

Mokhtar successfully crossed to the UK along with two others. He was later granted asylum and housed in a shelter in Sheffield, the BBC reported.

"We are both very relieved," Ms Huret said after the court let her off without any punishment, AFP reported.

Ms Huret’s husband, who died from cancer in 2010, worked as a border guard.

The 45-year-old is one of several French people charged with assisting migrants in recent months.

French farmer Cédric Herrou was handed a suspended €3,000 fine in February for helping African migrants cross the border from Italy.

Arriving at the courthouse in the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Ms Huret said she hoped people would “understand what I did and why I did it” and said she took full responsibility for her actions.

“I am prepared to give up my life for him," she told AFP. "The only thing that would bother me is that I would no longer be able to see Mokhtar if I’m in jail,”

Her lawyer said she would ask the court to throw the case out on the grounds she had acted for "humanitarian reasons".