Danny Tommo slashed dinghy with rescue worker on board

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Daniel Thomas, who calls himself Danny Tommo, filmed himself on Tuesday on a small boat in the Channel as he tracked two dinghies carrying asylum-seekers from France, after followers of his anti-migrant group Patriotic Platform were called to Gosport for a protest.

Mr Thomas, who has previously served two years in prison for attempted kidnapping, approached one dinghy that carried a rescue worker and dozens of life jackets, shouting: “Let’s get rid of that boat,” then stabbed and slashed it, shouting: “This is England, this is not France any more.”

After the rescue worker fell out of the dinghy, Mr Thomas shouted to his colleagues: “Let’s go, lads. Let’s go.”

Stand Up to Racism called the action “disgusting,” posting on X: “Fascist Danny Tommo and the far right don’t care whose lives are put at risk while they promote their message of division and hate.

“We are standing up to the fascists of Patriot Platform and will expose and break them.”

The group is holding a protest in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square today to “oppose fascist Danny Tommo and his attempts to whip up another pogrom.”

“Portsmouth stands together in unity and solidarity as a multicultural city,” it said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it was conducting inquiries into the boat-slashing incident.

The force said six people had been arrested — two on suspicion of aggravated trespass and four on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker — during the protests.

Video footage circulating online appears to show a crowd blocking ambulances nearby, with one man shouting that the service was “complicit in the invasion of this country.”

The rescued migrants, about 60 in total, had spent more than 33 hours at sea after reportedly refusing earlier assistance from French officials, with the RNLI warning of a “catastrophic failure” risk to their dinghy and raising concerns over their deteriorating health.

They were eventually taken to Dover.              

Following attacks, RNLI emphasised that its role was not a political one, saying: “When tasked by HM Coastguard we will rescue anyone in trouble at sea, as we have been doing for more than 200 years, without judgement or preference.”

A government spokesperson said the Border Security Command “works around the clock to protect our border.”