Daniel Thomas appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday (file photo)
Published12 November 2026, 10:37 GMT
Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, has admitted criminal damage after slashing a dinghy with a knife in the English Channel.
The 37-year-old changed his plea to the single charge when he appeared via video link from prison at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday.
A court previously heard he had taken a boat into the English Channel on 22 September and observed the migrant occupants of a dinghy being assisted by the RNLI, Border Force and the French Coastguard.
Thomas admitted using a knife on the dinghy, which had French personnel on board.
Prosecutor Kevin Lucie told Basingstoke Magistrates' Court in September the defendant instructed his vessel to be steered towards the empty rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that was adrift.
The court heard he then armed himself with a knife as rescue crews also approached the dinghy and a Frenchman boarded from a rescue vessel.
After slashing the boat with the knife, Thomas could be heard on a livestream 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."
After he pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal damage, he reiterated his plea of not guilty to failing to disclose the pin to his phone to police.
Thomas, whose address was withheld by the court at a previous hearing, will be sentenced at the same court on 18 November.
The maximum sentence if convicted of criminal damage valued at more than £5,000 is 10 years' imprisonment, according to the Sentencing Council.
But if the damage is valued lower than £5,000, the maximum sentence could be a fine and three months' jail time.
Thomas will also be given credit for his guilty plea.
منبع: بی بی سی
