In a move that combines maritime vandalism with breathtaking disregard for human safety, far-right activist Daniel Thomas - who prefers the nickname Danny Tommo, presumably because 'Daniel Thomas' sounds too much like a guy who wouldn't stab a boat - was filmed using a blade to slash an inflatable dinghy in the Channel. The kicker? A rescue worker was onboard at the time. Charities have condemned the footage as a dangerous escalation of organised anti-immigration protest, which is one way to describe a man with a knife on a boat full of lifejackets.
Hundreds of protesters gathered early Tuesday evening in Gosport, Hampshire, hoping to disrupt the planned disembarkation of asylum seekers. But the Border Force vessels carrying them landed in Dover instead - a 100-mile sea voyage and 150-mile road trip away, because nothing says 'welcome' like a forced tour of the south coast.
Thomas spent Tuesday afternoon on a small boat in the Channel, livestreaming himself to 100,000 viewers as he tracked two dinghies carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK. As rescue workers assisted passengers onto rescue boats, Thomas approached one of the now-empty dinghies - full of dozens of lifejackets recently left behind - and shouted, 'Let's get rid of that boat.' He then proceeded to stab a knife into the inflatable several times, slashing its side. The hiss of escaping air was audible as he declared, 'This is England. This is not France any more.' Because nothing says patriotism like puncturing a rubber boat.
Spotting a rescue worker in an orange hi-vis outfit and yellow helmet stepping into the dinghy from the larger rescue boat, Thomas shouted, 'Get off the boat. You've got time to get off the boat.' He then yelled to his colleagues, 'Let's go lads. Let's go,' and his boat motored away before the rescue worker climbed back onto the larger vessel. The stream did not show what happened to the rescue worker, leaving viewers to wonder if 'Get off the boat' was a courtesy or a threat.
The Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants condemned the action as violent and dangerous. Stand Up to Racism posted on X: 'Danny Tommo already has a conviction for knife crime. The footage of him going wild with a knife and slashing a boat with [an emergency worker] on it in the Channel today is disgusting.' Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said they were conducting inquiries into the boat-slashing incident and had made six arrests for offences including assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated trespass. All six were in custody Tuesday night.
According to the RNLI, the rescued asylum seekers had been in the water for 36 hours - thought to be the longest time small boat passengers have spent crossing the Channel. The RNLI expressed concerns for their deteriorating health and fears of a 'catastrophic failure' of their dinghy. The French coastguard said about 60 migrants on a small boat spent more than 33 hours at sea 'in precarious conditions,' refusing help as they were 'determined to take all risks to reach the United Kingdom.' The RNLI later facilitated their transfer to a Border Force vessel.
Thomas, who spent two years in prison for attempted kidnapping, has this summer gathered dozens of nationalist protest groups under the umbrella movement Patriot Platform. He used social media to call on followers to head to Gosport for 7pm to stage a protest at the expected arrival site. Hundreds turned out in Gosport, and others gathered near the Haslar immigration removal centre, an unopened detention site. Scores of police vans and dozens of officers blocked off roads. It was later confirmed the asylum seekers were being taken away from Hampshire by a Border Force boat to Dover.
Gosport local Dave Palmer, 43, was among the protesters. 'We don't want them in the country at all. They get given everything. I work 70 to 80-hour weeks as an air-conditioning engineer. What does the government give me? Nothing,' he said, presumably while standing on a road blocked by police because of a protest he attended.
A number of men wearing black, several with face coverings, arrived at the front of the protest with chants of 'Send them back' from the crowd. The protesters in black remained quiet as they lined up face-to-face with police officers, which is one way to spend a Tuesday.
Donna Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said she had urged Border Force to transfer the migrants to Dover. 'Hampshire is not prepared or set up to process people travelling into Britain this way, and the burden on the police to deal with the arrival and potential protest activity is unsustainable,' she said.
Following targeting by far-right agitators, the RNLI emphasised that its role is not a political one: 'When tasked by HM Coastguard we will rescue anyone in trouble at sea, as we have been doing for more than 200 years, without judgment or preference.' Which is more than can be said for a man with a knife and a livestream.