UK names 'Channel threat commander' as boat crossings surge

British government has appointed a former Royal Marine commando to try to stop people crossing English Channel from France in small boats.

government said Sunday that Dan O’Mahoney, who currently hes U.K.’s Joint Maritime Security Center, has been named “clandestine Channel threat commander.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said O‘Mahoney would work with French authorities on stronger enforcement measures, including intercepting boats at sea, “to make this route unviable.”

Britain’s Conservative government has talked tough amid a surge in number of migrants crossing Channel during recent warm summer wear. On Thursday, 235 people were brought ashore, a record number for a single day. More than 650 have arrived so far in August, including babies and unaccompanied children.

Patel has said Royal Navy could be called in to prevent boats reaching U.K. waters, though or senior officials and politicians say that would be impractical and potentially dangerous.

On Saturday Ministry of Defense said it h received a government request to “support U.K. Border Force operations” and was looking into how it could best help.

Migrants have long used rrn France as a launching point to reach Britain, eir in trucks through Channel tunnel or on ferries.

Some have turned to small boats organized by smugglers because coronavirus lockdowns have reduced opportunities to stow away on ferries and trucks. Fine summer wear is also prompting more people to make risky journey across one of world’s busiest shipping lanes — about 20 miles (32 kilometers) at its narrowest point — in vessels as small as dinghies and kayaks

British and French immigration ministers are due to hold talks this week about Channel crossings.

Human rights groups have criticized British government’s harsh rhetoric and accused officials of trying to blame France for rise in number of boat crossings.

Bridget Chapman of Kent Refugee Action Network accused government of “saber-rattling,” and called for asylum seekers to be given legal ways to come to Britain.

“That would close this route overnight, would save lives, and we would kw exactly who was arriving and when,” she said.