UK Activist Arrested After Slashing Migrant Dinghy in English Channel

Daniel Thomas, 37, a far-right activist known online as Danny Tommo, was arrested Wednesday evening on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life and endangering the safety of a boat. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed the arrest the following morning.

Video posted online appeared to show Thomas taking a knife to an inflatable dinghy in the Channel while shouting "You're in English territory." A rescue services member was aboard at the time. No migrants were on it.

Thomas had been livestreaming from the water that evening, broadcasting to more than 15,000 people online as 51 migrants completed a crossing that took over 33 hours from the Normandy coast. The group arrived in Dover at around 00:30 BST and were transferred to the Border Security Command. French coastguard had followed the migrants' dinghy for much of the journey after those on board refused assistance, telling officials they were "determined to take all risks" to reach the UK.

Police are investigating footage from the livestream. The charge is serious: criminal damage with intent to endanger life carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under UK law.

Thomas is a longtime associate of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson. His arrest comes as far-right activists have adopted a more confrontational approach to crossings, moving beyond protests at ports to direct interference with dinghies on the water.

The night capped a busy stretch for rescue services in the Channel. Two days earlier, more than 60 migrants had been escorted across by French rescue tug Abeille Liberté, and six people were arrested at Gosport on the same night as the migrants arrived in Dover.