LONDON (Reuters) – Britain appointed on Sunday a commander to lead its response to tackling illegal small boat crossings across the Channel, creating a new role after a spate of migrant arrivals on the southern English coast.
Interior minister Priti Patel named Dan O’Mahoney, a former Royal Marine, as Britain’s new Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, saying he would work with France to make the Channel route unviable for small boat crossings.
Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, hundreds of people including children and pregnant women have made the dangerous 33-km (21-mile) crossing in recent days in small vessels.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Gareth Jones)
