Anti-migrant activist Danny Tommo pleads not guilty to criminal damage over 'boat slashing'

Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas has pleaded not guilty to criminal damage over the alleged slashing of a boat in the English Channel with an emergency responder on board.

The 37-year-old also pleaded not guilty to not disclosing his phone PIN to the police, under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Thomas, who founded the anti-migration group Patriot Platform and is known as Danny Tommo, entered the plea at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The alleged incident was said to have occurred on Tuesday.

A crew member was on the boat while it was heard leaking air, the court heard.

Prosecutor Kevin Lucie, outlining the facts of the criminal damage charge, told the court Thomas slashed an adrift boat with a knife and said: "You are 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."

The request by police for Thomas to provide the PIN to his phone occurred after he livestreamed his arrest at a BP petrol station, Mr Lucie said.

Thomas has said he would like a Crown Court trial on both charges. A hearing will take place in Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday.

Simon Pentol KC, defending, reminded the court Thomas "is not charged with an offence of political activism".

He is a "professional roofer by trade", who lives with his long-standing partner, who is pregnant, and their four children, Mr Pentol told the court.

Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram, the deputy chief magistrate, said he was "satisfied there is a real possibility of an immediate custodial sentence in this case".

On Thursday evening, around 200 supporters of the activist, largely wearing black, gathered outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke, believing that he was inside.

The crowd - chanting "free DT" - dispersed several hours later following news of Thomas's charge.

Dozens of police officers could be seen monitoring the group outside.

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Earlier this month, hundreds of similarly dressed protesters gathered twice in two days in Dover and Portsmouth, blocking local streets in response to arrivals of small boats, with ministers describing the demonstrations as "thuggish".

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was pictured outside the court on Friday morning ahead of the hearing, and watched from the public gallery.

On Wednesday, 781 people arrived in the UK on small boats - the most on ⁠a single day in 2026 - although overall numbers have been falling.

(c) Sky News 2026: Anti-migrant activist Danny Tommo pleads not guilty to criminal damage over 'boat slashing'