Police replace after far-right chief Danny Tommo ‘seen slashing inflatable dinghy in Channel’
Convicted kidnapper Danny Tommo, whose balaclava-clad group brought chaos to Dover and Portsmouth earlier this month, filmed himself in a small boat as he tracked migrant dinghies carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK
Danny Thomas, who styles himself as Danny Tommo, pictured at a previous demo(Image: Getty Images)
Police are making enquiries into the leader of masked anti-migrant group Patriot Platform, after video footage appeared to show him using a blade to slash an inflatable dinghy in the Channel while a rescue worker was onboard.
Danny “Tommo” Thomas was seen carrying out the act on Tuesday afternoon while filming and livestreaming himself as he tracked a migrant dinghy carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK. A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of a video circulating online relating to damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on the afternoon of 22 September, and we are conducting enquiries into the matter.”
The convicted kidnapper, whose balaclava-clad group brought chaos to Dover and Portsmouth earlier this month, later urged his followers to block the rescued migrants arriving at Gosport, leading to a massive police operation as hundreds of anti-migrant protesters tried to reach the marina.
The operation saw police block roads to the area, leading to large groups gathering at various bottlenecks, including on Clayhall Road, near Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, which has been closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen next year.
They were mainly young men, but also included some women wrapped in flags and wearing England tops, while families were even standing with small children in their arms waving England flags. The Border Force boat transporting the migrants to Gosport was eventually turned back and redirected to Dover due to the gathering protesters.
The police spokesperson said: “Members of the public who were closely following the activity of the vessel turned out in Gosport and Portsmouth to protest. To help facilitate peaceful protest, ensure the safety of the local community and support partners in the event of any emergency at sea, we deployed officers to Gosport and Portsmouth. Police were met with a group of people who remained in Gosport, some of whom became hostile towards officers.”
They added: “As a result, six people were arrested for offences including careless driving, assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated trespass. They remain in custody at this time and our enquiries into these incidents continue.”
Thomas, 37, who was privately educated in Hampshire, spent Tuesday live-streaming from a small boat in the Channel, close to a small migrant boat and a French rescue vessel. He and his crew appeared to ignore a request from the French vessel to move one mile away from them while their rescue mission took place, before repeatedly taunting them, calling them “French frogs”, as well as “sausages”.
Thomas also appeared to speak over radio to the French crew, telling them: “This is a message from the Patriot Platform. You will stop this immediately and remove those migrants from our waters and take them home. If you do not, there will be consequences. Over.”
He was also seen shouting: “We want our money back. This is not what we paid for. We paid for you French frogs to take them back to France.”
Thomas, previously jailed for his part in the attempted armed kidnapping of a man in 2016, went on to film the moment two RNLI boats saved the stranded migrants in the Channel before transferring them to Border Force vessel HMC Vigilant.
The former soldier was seen hurling abuse towards the RNLI, who he described as “a personal taxi service into our nation”, as well as Border Force officers. He shouted: “Lads, how do you sleep at night?”.
