Far-right activist Daniel Thomas investigated after slashing migrant dinghy in English Channel

English Channel confrontation

British far-right activist Daniel Thomas, known online as Danny Tommo, filmed himself on 22 September 2026 pursuing and stabbing an inflatable migrant dinghy in the English Channel. The small boat had departed Normandy carrying between 50 and 60 asylum seekers before rescue crews evacuated the passengers. Operating a yellow speedboat, the 37-year-old activist streamed the encounter live on social media to an audience reaching up to 100,000 viewers. A French rescue worker from the coastguard vessel Abeille Liberté, wearing an orange protective suit and yellow helmet, stepped onto the abandoned black dinghy to secure it. Thomas approached the boat with a knife, made multiple stabbing motions into the inflatable collar, and shouted at the rescuer as air escaped from the punctured hull.

Right, you are on English territory. This is England. This is not France any more.

Thomas then told the French official to leave before speeding away with his crew.

Rescue operation and migrant transit

The passengers on board the dinghy had spent between 33 and 36 hours at sea in deteriorating conditions before rescue teams intervened. French maritime authorities reported that approximately 60 people had initially refused assistance in an attempt to reach British waters. Two Royal National Lifeboat Institution craft and a UK Border Force vessel intercepted the group once they entered the British search and rescue zone. Rescue personnel transferred the migrants to a Border Force vessel, which rerouted approximately 100 miles to Dover for processing. Thomas defended the stabbing of the boat to his online followers, stating that his goal was to disable the craft permanently.

We just wanted to make sure that boat was not taken back to France and used again.

Gosport demonstrations and arrests

After the confrontation in the Channel, Thomas urged his followers to gather in Gosport, Hampshire, to obstruct the anticipated landing of asylum seekers. Hundreds of demonstrators answered the call on Tuesday evening, leading police to close surrounding roads and deploy crowd control units. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary arrested six individuals during the Gosport gathering on offenses including assaulting a rescue worker and aggravated trespass. The regional police force also confirmed a formal investigation into the video recording of the vessel being slashed in the Channel earlier that afternoon.

Political reaction and activist background

Thomas established the anti-immigration group Patriot Platform, which presents itself as a Christian-inspired movement with regional branches across the United Kingdom. The activist, who was sentenced in 2016 to two years in prison for attempted kidnapping, previously helped organize masked demonstrations disrupting ports in Dover and Portsmouth. Thomas maintains an online presence with 399,000 followers on Instagram and 203,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he regularly posts footage of anti-migrant demonstrations. Advocacy organization Stand Up To Racism called the boat stabbing footage revolting and cited Thomas's prior criminal history. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government described previous masked port demonstrations as thuggery and ordered a police crackdown on masked demonstrators, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also criticized the actions.