Anti-Migrant Activist Pleads Not Guilty To Channel Dinghy Slashing As Tommy Robinson Watches From Gallery

An anti-migrant activist who founded the Patriot Platform group has pleaded not guilty to criminal damage and failing to provide his mobile telephone PIN to police during an appearance at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Friday 25 September 2026.

Daniel Thomas, 37, who is widely known to his supporters as Danny Tommo, entered his not guilty pleas as far-right activist Tommy Robinson watched proceedings from the public gallery.

Thomas appeared in Courtroom 02 before District Judge Apted and Deputy Senior District Judge Ikram to face the formal charges. The official court listing confirmed he is charged with criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 alongside a charge of failing to comply with a section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information.

The court heard this relates to Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. During the first hearing, the defendant formally stated his desire for a Crown Court trial and the matter was subsequently sent to Portsmouth Crown Court, where a further hearing will take place next Tuesday. 

The prosecution stems from a highly publicised maritime incident in the English Channel on Tuesday. Prosecutor Kevin Lucie, representing the CPS-WX prosecuting authority, outlined the facts of the criminal damage charge to the court.

He alleged that Thomas deliberately slashed an adrift boat with a knife while declaring to those present that they were on English territory and that it was not France anymore. The court heard that a crew member was physically present on the small vessel when it was heard leaking air following the alleged strike.

Prior to the incident, approximately 50 migrants who had embarked on the crossing from Normandy had already been safely transferred onto RNLI lifeboats before being moved onto a UK Border Force vessel and transported to Dover for official processing.

The prosecution alleges that an emergency responder was on board the inflatable dinghy at the exact time the defendant is accused of striking the hull. 

The court proceedings follow a significant demonstration outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke on Thursday evening where the defendant had been held in custody. A crowd comprising approximately 200 supporters of the activist converged on the Hampshire facility believing that he was incarcerated inside.

During the demonstration, the gathered protesters, who were largely dressed in black and wearing ski masks, stood outside the main police building and repeatedly chanted "free DT" at the facility walls. Dozens of police officers were deployed to carefully monitor the group as they protested outside the investigation centre.

The crowd eventually began to disperse several hours later following the news that formal criminal charges had been authorised against the 37-year-old. Far-right figure Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was pictured outside the magistrates' court on Friday morning ahead of the scheduled hearing, where he joined supporters before entering the building to observe the proceedings.