Far-right activist Danny Tommo, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, has admitted to slashing a migrant boat in the English Channel. The 37-year-old appeared via video link from prison at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, where he changed his plea to guilty on a charge of criminal damage.
Incident in the English Channel
A court previously heard how Thomas had taken a boat into the English Channel and observed the migrant occupants of a dinghy being assisted by the RNLI, Border Force and French Coastguard.
Prosecutor Kevin Lucie told Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court in September that the defendant instructed his boat to be steered towards the empty RIB that was adrift and then armed himself with a knife as rescue crews also approached the dinghy and a Frenchman boarded from a rescue vessel.
Plea and other charges
After slashing the boat with the knife, Thomas could be heard saying: “This is what needs to happen to everyone in these boats. Right, you’re 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.”
At the hearing on Thursday, Thomas, whose address was withheld by the court at a previous hearing, reiterated his plea of not guilty to failing to disclose the pin to his phone to police, under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
