Around 300 protesters gather outside police station chanting 'free DT' after Danny Tommo arrest over Channel dinghy slashing

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026.

Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, 37, known as Danny Tommo, was arrested after video emerged of him slashing the side of a migrant dinghy in the English Channel while a rescue crew member was still on board. The arrest was made on suspicion of criminal damage recklessly endangering life. Around 300 supporters — mostly men in black clothing, some masked — gathered outside the police investigation centre just before 6.30pm, waving Union flags and chanting 'free DT'. Roughly a dozen officers stood in a line separating the crowd from the entrance as the demonstration remained peaceful, with protesters cheering motorists who honked in support.

Thomas uploaded footage of his own arrest to YouTube, in which an officer told him he was being detained on suspicion of criminal damage.