Key facts
- Anti-migrant activist Danny Tommo was arrested on September 23, 2026.
- Tommo, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, is a key ally of Tommy Robinson.
- He was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life.
- The arrest is related to an incident in the English Channel where a migrant dinghy was allegedly slashed with a knife.
- A rescue worker was reportedly still on board the dinghy when it was slashed.
Anti-migrant activist Danny Tommo, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, was arrested on September 23, 2026, on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life. The arrest follows an incident in the English Channel where a migrant dinghy was allegedly slashed with a knife while a rescue worker was on board.
Footage posted online shows unmarked police cars surrounding a vehicle Thomas was traveling in at a BP petrol station. As officers approached, Thomas emerged from the car and was heard saying he needed to speak to his children. An officer informed him that they had information suggesting his involvement in criminal damage before placing him in handcuffs.
The incident occurred after a dinghy, originally carrying around 50 migrants from Normandy, was intercepted in UK waters by RNLI lifeboats. The passengers were then transferred to a UK Border Force vessel bound for Dover. Live-streaming from a yellow speedboat, Thomas was seen sailing alongside the empty inflatable and using a knife to slash its rubber hull. A French coastguard official from the vessel Abeille Liberté was reportedly still on board the dinghy at the time. Tommy Robinson claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Thomas was detained for "criminal damage" and "recklessly endangering someone's life" as part of an effort to "stop the invasion of our country."