Patel appoints ex-marine to check migrant crossings

LONDON: Home Secretary Priti Patel has tasked a former Royal Marine with delivering her ambition of making the English Channel route for migrants in small boats “unviable”, after calling for naval support.

Patel appointed Dan O’Mahoney, a former Border Force official, to the role of “clandestine Channel threat commander”, the Home Office said. The move came as ministers were under increasing pressure to act after a record number of people made the perilous crossing.

On Saturday, the Home Office formally asked defence chiefs for naval support for Border Force in the Dover Straits. O’Mahoney is expected to press France for stronger enforcement measures and to adopt interceptions and the return of boats at sea.

Patel said: “The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling. We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice.

“Dan’s appointment is vital to cutting this route by bringing together all operational partners in the UK and in France.” O’Mahoney was deployed in Kosovo and Iraq while in the marines and held senior roles at the National Crime Agency and Border Force Heathrow before becoming director of the Joint Maritime Security Centre, according to the Home Office.

He said: “This role is vitally important in the fight to end the heinous crime of people smuggling across the Channel.”