British police have arrested a far-right anti-immigration activist after he live-streamed footage appearing to show him slashing an empty dinghy in the English Channel with a knife while a French coastguard official was still on board.
Daniel Thomas, 37, known to his supporters as âÂÂDanny Tommo,â was detained on Wednesday evening at a petrol station and remains in custody, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said on Thursday.
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He was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life, endangering the safety of a ship and offences under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act and the Merchant Shipping Act.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon after approximately 50 migrants who had travelled from Normandy were taken to Dover for processing.
Thomas, founder of the Patriot Platform group, approached the dinghy in a yellow speedboat while broadcasting to more than 15,000 viewers. Video shows him pulling out a knife and slashing the inflatable hull as a French official from the coastguard vessel Abeille Liberte remained aboard.
âÂÂThis is English territory, it is not France anymore,â Thomas is heard shouting.
Thomas later said the purpose of his action was to ensure âÂÂthat is one boat that wonâÂÂt be used again.âÂÂ
Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and a close associate of Thomas, claimed on social media that Thomas was arrested for attempting to âÂÂstop the invasion of our countryâÂÂ.
Thomas organised anti-immigration protests in Dover and Portsmouth in early September, which drew hundreds of demonstrators who blocked roads. He founded Patriot Platform earlier this year, rallying support for what he describes as âÂÂmass resistanceâ to âÂÂtake our country backâÂÂ.
Successive British governments have struggled to stop people â more than 41,000 last year â making the dangerous journey across one of the worldâÂÂs busiest shipping lanes. The issue has been depicted as a crisis by politicians, including Nigel Farage of the far-right party Reform UK, and has been used as a rallying point by anti-immigration activists.