Police launch probe into Danny Tommo after he slashes dinghy while rescue worker onboard

The far-right activist used a blade to slash the vessel in the Channel.

On Tuesday, Thomas, who styles himself as Danny Tommo, coordinated another anti-immigration protest in Gosport, Hampshire.

Hundreds of protestors gathered in the town aiming to disrupt the planned disembarkation of asylum seekers. In the end, Border Force landed the individuals in Dover early on Wednesday.

Ahead of the gathering in Gosport, Thomas had spent the afternoon in the English Channel in a small boat.

Live-streaming his actions, Thomas tracked two dinghies carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK.

At one point, Thomas approached one of the dinghies, which had no people on board. Rescue vessels were also next to the boat, trying to deal with the situation, whilst Thomas shouted at them and asked if they were English.

But when a rescue worker stepped into the inflatable boat from the rescue boat, Thomas got a blade out and started to slash the inflatable.

As the air escaped the vessel, he told the rescue worker to get off and shouted: “This is England. This is not France any more.”

The footage was livestreamed to some 100,000 viewers, the Guardian reports, and has since been widely shared online by people condemning Thomas’s actions.

Anti-racism charity Stand Up to Racism posted on X: “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.”

Police have since confirmed they are looking into the footage.

In a statement on Tuesday night, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it was “aware of a video circulating online relating to damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on the afternoon of 22 September, and we are conducting enquiries into the matter.”

The force said six people had been arrested in Gosport during the unrest.

The statement reads: “Police and partner agencies, including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Border Security Command, worked closely in response to reports of a small boat crossing the English Channel on Tuesday 22 September.

“Members of the public who were closely following the activity of the vessel turned out in Gosport and Portsmouth to protest.

“To help facilitate peaceful protest, ensure the safety of the local community and support partners in the event of any emergency at sea, we deployed officers to Gosport and Portsmouth.

“Following news that the vessel would be docking elsewhere in the country, police were met with a group of people who remained in Gosport, some of whom became hostile towards officers.

“As a result, six people were arrested as follows:

• Two men from Salisbury, a 19-year-old and a 36-year-old, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
• A 67-year-old man, from Gosport, was arrested on suspicion of careless driving and assault emergency worker.
• A 32-year-old woman, a 31-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, all from Gosport, were arrested on suspicion of assault emergency worker.

“They remain in custody at this time and our enquiries into these incidents continue.