by Our Parliamentary reporter @TrinderMatt

CAMPAIGNERS slammed Priti Patel’s “cowardly, extreme and illegal” pushback tactics against migrant boats today after it emerged the Home Secretary is rewriting maritime law to keep asylum-seekers out.

Ms Patel has allegedly sanctioned new tactics to force migrant vessels in the English Channel back to France, potentially putting the vulnerable people fleeing persecution on board at risk.

Several newspapers reported that members of Border Force are being given special training to handle migrant boats but would only deploy the tactics when deemed “practical and safe to do so.”

Such operations will allegedly be restricted to sturdier, bigger migrant vessels – rather than small boats and dinghies – and only used in “very limited circumstances” at the discretion of the captain involved. 

It is understood a range of options for finding ways to stop small boats crossing the Channel are also being evaluated and tested.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on maritime operational activity.”

Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused Ms Patel of losing control of the situation.

He said: “The Home Secretary has failed to tackle the vile criminal gangs who are profiting from people-smuggling and this should be her focus, along with securing an effective deal with France and safe and legal routes.”

During discussions on Wednesday, Ms Patel is thought to have told French interior minister Gerald Darmanin that she “expects to see results” from French efforts to prevent further crossings.

The talks came in the wake of record migrant numbers being brought ashore in Kent in recent weeks.

The Times newspaper reported that the French government had made it clear during the meetings that pushback tactics would have “a negative impact on our co-operation.”

Dan O’Mahoney, who has the ominous job title of “clandestine Channel threat commander,” boasted that British efforts so far have prevented more than 10,000 attempts to reach safety in Britain, led to almost 300 arrests and secured 65 convictions.

Refugee Action chief executive Tim Naor Hilton said: “We should be working to keep refugees safe, not keep refugees out.

“Resorting to cowardly, extreme and illegal pushbacks show government policy has always been about bullying refugees to score political points rather than breaking up smuggling gangs.

“The government must do what is right and provide routes to safety such as family reunion schemes, humanitarian visas and an ambitious and long-term commitment to refugee resettlement.”

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants campaigns director Minnie Rahman called the proposals dangerous and extreme and said they will cost lives.

“What she’s asking British officials to do is essentially drag dinghies into French waters and leave people to starve or drown at sea –breaking maritime law in the process,” she said. 

“We know that similar tactics have been linked to thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean, and it’s absurd to ask Border Force to use these deadly methods in the channel.

“If government truly wanted to end dangerous crossings, it would establish safe routes for people seeking asylum in the UK.”

And Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German blasted the “disgraceful policy and the barbaric attitude of the Tories to refugees.

“It is especially reprehensible given the crocodile tears shed by ministers like [Ms] Patel over the situation in Afghanistan and the promise to help as many refugees as possible,” she said.

“The wars of intervention have created huge numbers of refugees across the Middle East and south Asia – the least we can do is give victims the safe haven they need.”

Labour’s Leeds East MP Richard Burgon warned of distraction tactics in the week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an increase in national insurance contributions. 

He tweeted: “With criticism of their tax hikes growing, the Tories have revealed plans to force back small boats carrying asylum-seekers.

“This is typical Tory divide and rule. They want you to blame the vulnerable while they serve the super-rich.”