Activist guilty of slashing migrant dinghy

Right-wing activist Daniel Thomas, 37, has pleaded guilty to criminal damage after slashing a migrant dinghy with a knife in the English Channel. Thomas, who uses the name Danny Tommo, entered his plea at Portsmouth Crown Court. The incident occurred while rescue services, including the RNLI, Border Force, and the French Coastguard, were assisting migrants in the dinghy.

During the incident, Thomas was heard making threats. According to a prosecutor at a previous hearing, he instructed his boat to be steered towards the empty dinghy. As rescue crews approached, Thomas armed himself with a knife and slashed the boat. He was heard saying, "This is what needs to happen to everyone in these boats. Right, you’re on English territory, This is England, this is not France anymore. Get off the boat, you have time to get off the boat. This is not France. Take them back."

Thomas continues to deny a separate charge of failing to disclose his phone's PIN to police, a charge brought under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. His address was withheld by the court at a prior hearing.