Protests · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Danny Tommo Arrested After Slashing Dinghy With Emergency Responder On Board In English Channel
Daniel Thomas, aka Danny Tommo, arrested on suspicion of damage with intent to endanger life. The dinghy carried around 50 migrants and was in Channel when rescue crew on board.
Whether the report leads with arrest or ongoing enquiries.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: french authorities warned seafarers of duty to assist and possible prosecution for interference..
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Same story, two versions
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The Telegraph
“A far-Right activist has been arrested after a migrant boat was slashed in the Channel.”Read the original ↗
BBC
“Police are looking into a video appearing to show anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas slashing at an inflatable boat with a knife in the English Channel.”Read the original ↗
The Telegraph emphasises the arrest, while the BBC leads with police enquiries.
Danny Tommo detained
Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, was arrested after a boat with an emergency responder on board was damaged in the English Channel, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the 37-year-old of no fixed abode was held on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life. Hampshire Police said, “We received a report of the incident on Tuesday evening,” and the force said, “He remains in custody at this time.” Hundreds of protesters gathered in Gosport on Tuesday evening aiming to disrupt the arrival of asylum seekers, and six people were arrested after crowds gathered at the marina under the mistaken belief that a small boat carrying migrants was due to arrive there.
A Border Force vessel carrying 51 people landed instead in Dover early on Wednesday, and Hampshire police said two men from Salisbury, aged 19 and 36, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass. Tommy Robinson shared a video of Thomas’s arrest on social media, claiming it was in relation to an attempt to “stop the invasion of our country.”
Protests, charges, and videos
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said police were examining a video Thomas had live-streamed on Tuesday, in which a French coastguard official was on board when Thomas appeared to slash at the vessel. The BBC said the force described the incident as “a boat that had an emergency responder on board” being damaged in the Channel, and the constabulary said Thomas was arrested on suspicion of “destroying ships” under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990. BHampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said three people were charged after they gathered at the marina where they thought the boat’s passengers were due to arrive, and the force said six people were arrested by officers during the evening.
Shannon Dodds, 32, of Gosport was charged with two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker and was remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Thursday, while Sally Pearson, 31, was charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker and a racially aggravated public order offence. The footage described Thomas shouting “traitors” as he slashed the dinghy, and the video also captured him asking police if he could use his phone to speak to his children.
What the protests sought
The protests in Gosport were aimed at disrupting the planned disembarkation of asylum seekers, and the Border Force vessel carrying 51 people landed instead in Dover early on Wednesday. The London Evening Standard said Thomas’s YouTube livestream was broadcast on Tuesday and viewed close to 200,000 times, and it quoted Thomas shouting, “This is English territory, it is not France anymore”. The Daily Echo said the Government spokesperson stated, “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
The Daily Echo also said Hampshire police arrested six anti-migrant protesters in Gosport after they gathered at the marina under the mistaken belief that the boat would land there, and it reported that Dame Caroline Dinenage raised concerns about the decision to prepare for the disembarkation of migrants at Fort Blockhouse. The London Evening Standard reported that the migrants landed in Dover in the early hours of Wednesday after 51 migrants on board reportedly refused help from a French ship and spent 33 hours at sea, and it said routes used by small-boat people smugglers appear to be changing.