A far-right activist has been filmed stabbing a knife into an inflatable dinghy carrying asylum seekers in the English Channel while a rescue worker stood onboard, in what charities and campaigners have described as a deeply dangerous and violent escalation of organised anti-immigration protest. Daniel Thomas, who operates under the alias Danny Tommo, livestreamed the incident to approximately 100,000 viewers as he slashed the vessel’s side, shouting nationalist slogans as air hissed from the punctured raft. The episode unfolded on Tuesday evening near Gosport, Hampshire, where hundreds of supporters had gathered in a bid to disrupt the arrival of asylum seekers — though Border Force ultimately relocated the group to Dover.
The Incident in the Channel
Thomas spent Tuesday afternoon aboard a small vessel tracking two dinghies making the crossing from France. As rescue workers assisted passengers on to larger rescue boats, he manoeuvred his craft close to one of the inflatables, which was reportedly packed with dozens of lifejackets discarded by those who had just been rescued. In footage that has since drawn widespread condemnation, Thomas was seen driving a blade into the dinghy’s side multiple times. He shouted: “This is England. This is not France any more.”
When he noticed a rescue worker — clad in an orange hi-vis jacket and yellow helmet — had stepped into the smaller boat, Thomas directed his words at the emergency responder: “Get off the boat. You’ve got time to get off the boat.” He then turned to his associates and ordered them to depart. His vessel motored away before the rescue worker could climb back to the larger craft. The livestream did not capture what became of the worker afterward.
The Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants condemned the act outright, while the anti-racism campaign group Stand Up to Racism highlighted Thomas’s criminal record, noting: “Danny Tommo already has a conviction for knife crime. The footage of him going wild with a knife and slashing a boat with [an emergency worker] on it in the Channel today is disgusting.”
Protest and Police Response in Gosport
Earlier on Tuesday, Thomas had used social media to call on dozens of nationalist groups operating under his umbrella movement, Patriot Platform, to converge on Gosport at 7pm. The demonstration was intended to block the anticipated disembarkation point for the asylum seekers. Hundreds responded, with additional crowds gathering near the Haslar immigration removal centre, an unused detention facility in the area.
Scores of police vans and dozens of officers lined the streets, blocking roads and maintaining a heavy presence. A number of men dressed in black, several wearing face coverings, pushed to the front of the crowd and chanted “Send them back” as they stood face-to-face with police lines. Among the protesters was local resident Dave Palmer, 43, an air-conditioning engineer who said: “We don’t want them in the country at all. They get given everything. I work 70 to 80-hour weeks as an air-conditioning engineer. What does the government give me? Nothing.”
Yet the anticipated confrontation never materialised in Gosport. Border Force vessels instead transported the rescued asylum seekers to Dover, a journey of roughly 100 miles by sea. Donna Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, confirmed she had urged the transfer, stating: “Hampshire is not prepared or set up to process people travelling into Britain this way, and the burden on the police to deal with the arrival and potential protest activity is unsustainable.”
Arrests and Criminal Background
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed it was investigating the boat-slashing incident. Officers made six arrests on Tuesday night for offences including assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated trespass. All six individuals were in custody by Tuesday evening.
Thomas, who goes by Danny Tommo online, has a significant criminal history. He served two years in prison for attempted kidnapping and has a prior conviction for knife crime. This summer, he has consolidated dozens of far-right nationalist protest groups under the Patriot Platform banner, using social media channels to coordinate mobilisation and amplify his message to a wide audience.
RNLI Rescue and Conditions at Sea
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution said the rescued asylum seekers had spent approximately 36 hours in the water — believed to be the longest recorded duration for small-boat passengers crossing the Channel. RNLI crews expressed serious concern over the deteriorating health of those onboard and feared a “catastrophic failure” of their vessel before rescue arrived. The French coastguard separately reported that around 60 migrants on a small boat had endured more than 33 hours at sea “in precarious conditions,” refusing assistance because they were “determined to take all risks to reach the United Kingdom.”
The RNLI ultimately facilitated the transfer of the rescued individuals to a Border Force vessel. In a statement emphasising its impartiality, the charity said: “When tasked by HM Coastguard we will rescue anyone in trouble at sea, as we have been doing for more than 200 years, without judgment or preference.”
A government spokesperson added: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
Why it Matters
This incident exposes a deeply troubling convergence of organised political agitation and maritime danger, where the actions of a single individual with a violent criminal record have the power to endanger lives and strain emergency resources. The deliberate targeting of rescue vessels — even those carrying people who have already survived hours at sea in deteriorating conditions — represents a reckless escalation that puts both migrants and emergency responders at risk. As far-right movements grow more emboldened in their tactics, the question for authorities, charities, and communities is whether the legal system and border infrastructure can respond quickly enough to protect the vulnerable and uphold the principles that have guided British rescue services for over two centuries.