Patriot Platform ‘plotting to intercept migrant dinghies’ in English Channel
Anti-immigration activists from Patriot Platform are allegedly plotting to launch a hired boat into the English Channel to intercept migrant dinghies crossing from France
The far-right anti-migrant protest group have plotted to “stop the boats” by intercepting them(Image: Getty)
Activists are reportedly planning to launch their own boat into the English Channel to intercept migrant dinghies in an effort to “stop the boats”
Members of the anti-immigration group Patriot Platform – notorious for their balaclava-clad protests in Dover and Portsmouth – are allegedly contemplating taking a rented vessel into international waters to confront asylum seekers making the crossing from France.
This risky strategy could see the group trying to block incoming dinghies or force them back towards the French coast, potentially causing significant disruption in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and necessitating intervention from Border Force or the French coastguard. Undercover reporting by The Sun on Sunday revealed that masked members discussed the plan during a protest in Portsmouth last weekend.
An insider shared: “The idea has been discussed. It’s an early-stage idea, but in the eyes of the activists, physically stopping a boat when the French and Home Office can’t do it would be a major moment.
“It could end in tragedy, but shows how furious these people are.”
The group staged balaclava-clad demonstrations in Dover and Portsmouth(Image: Getty)
There is no suggestion that group leader Daniel Thomas, known as “Danny Tommo,” is directly involved in the Channel plot. Mr Thomas, who previously slashed and abandoned migrant dinghies on French beaches, has already been banned from entering France, reports the Express.
The disclosure comes after a weekend of mounting tensions across the UK coastline. In Portsmouth, a confrontation with Hampshire Police at Eastney Docks on Sunday (September 6) held up the disembarkation of 120 migrants brought to shore by a volunteer RNLI lifeboat.
Protesters subsequently followed coaches transporting the asylum seekers to Home Office facilities.
At the same time, a demonstration through Dover brought parts of the port town to a standstill, with balaclava-clad protesters shouting “Whose streets? Our streets” under heavy police surveillance.
Group leader, Danny Tommo, has been banned from France after slashing ditched migrant dinghies(Image: Getty)
The hostile approach has triggered widespread criticism from across the political divide. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage condemned the protests, branding the scenes in Dover “disgusting” and calling on authorities to prohibit masked demonstrations.
“Nobody in any political protest, on the left or right, should appear in balaclavas,” Mr Farage said.
“You should not be allowed to be masked up, balaclava-ed up and go out and protest on the streets of our country. It is wrong at every level. So I deplore what is happening in Dover today.”
