Daniel Thomas, the far-right activist also known as Danny Tommo, has admitted criminal damage after using a knife to slash a dinghy in the Channel. The 37-year-old changed his plea to the single charge during an appearance by video link from prison at Portsmouth crown court on Thursday, 12 November.
An earlier hearing was told that Thomas had travelled into the Channel by boat and watched as people aboard a dinghy received assistance from the RNLI, Border Force and the French coastguard. Thomas was described in court as a close associate of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far-right extremist known as Tommy Robinson.
At Basingstoke magistrates court in September, prosecutor Kevin Lucie said Thomas had directed his boat towards the dinghy after its occupants had left and it was drifting. Thomas then armed himself with a knife while rescue crews were also approaching. A Frenchman boarded the dinghy from a rescue vessel before Thomas slashed it.
After damaging the vessel, Thomas could be heard asserting that it was in English territory and telling the man to leave the boat. Footage of the September incident prompted condemnation from the Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants and Stand Up to Racism, which described his actions as dangerous and violent.
The RNLI said the asylum seekers it rescued had been in the water for 36 hours, a duration thought to be the longest that small boat passengers had spent crossing the Channel. The charity reported concerns that their health was worsening and that the dinghy could suffer a catastrophic failure.
The French coastguard gave an account of about 60 people spending more than 33 hours at sea aboard a small boat in precarious conditions. It said they had declined assistance because they were determined to reach the United Kingdom despite the risks.
During the summer, Thomas brought dozens of nationalist protest groups together under an umbrella movement called Patriot Platform. Earlier in September, hundreds of masked and hooded anti-migrant activists affiliated with the movement descended on Dover and Portsmouth. Hampshire police subsequently reported damage to several police, coastguard and Border Force vehicles, along with minor injuries to a few officers.
At Thursday's hearing, Thomas maintained his not guilty plea to a separate charge of failing to give police his phone PIN under section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. His address had been withheld at an earlier hearing. Judge James Newton-Price KC scheduled sentencing for 18 November, and Thomas remains in custody pending that hearing.
