Far-right activist Danny Tommo charged over Channel dinghy slashing

Daniel Thomas, the far-right activist known as Danny Tommo, has been charged with criminal damage after footage appeared to show him slashing an empty dinghy in the English Channel, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Thomas, 37, of no fixed abode, is also charged under section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 with allegedly failing to comply with a notice to disclose his phone PIN to police, according to the Times (https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/danny-tommo-arrested-boat-patriot-platform-t86gv0ds7).

The charges follow an incident on Tuesday when Thomas approached a dinghy in a yellow speedboat while livestreaming to more than 15,000 viewers and slashed at the inflatable hull with a knife, even as a French coastguard official from the vessel Abeille Liberté remained aboard, Al Jazeera reported (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/9/24/far-right-uk-activist-daniel-thomas-arrested-after-slashing-dinghy). The boat was empty of migrants, who had already been transferred for processing at Dover.

Appearing via video link at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Thomas pleaded not guilty to both charges and was remanded in custody. His next appearance will be at Portsmouth Crown Court on 29 September, according to reports (https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-news/danny-tommo-pleads-not-guilty-dinghy-slashing-anti-migrant-714296-20260925).

Thomas, who founded the anti-immigration campaign group Patriot Platform and was detained by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary at a petrol station on Wednesday evening, is a close associate of fellow activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson. Chris Derrick of the CPS said there was “sufficient evidence to bring the case to court” and that it was in the public interest to pursue proceedings, reminding the public the defendant has the right to a fair trial.