Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Patriot Platform founder denies slashing migrant boat criminal damage charges
Daniel Thomas leads a group called Patriot Platform that opposes migrants arriving in small boats.
He is accused of cutting one of these boats with a knife.
A rescue worker was reportedly on the boat at the time.
Thomas also faces a charge connected to not giving police the PIN for his phone.
He says he did not commit either offence.
He had followed the boat and livestreamed the incident.
Protests later caused the migrants to be taken somewhere other than Gosport.
A court kept Thomas in custody until his next hearing.
Daniel Thomas, founder of Patriot Platform, pleaded not guilty to criminal damage and refusing to provide his phone PIN.
Thomas is accused of slashing a small boat with a knife while a rescue worker was aboard.
He livestreamed himself following the boat in the Channel before migrants were transferred to another vessel.
Protests disrupted plans to take the migrants to Gosport, prompting officials to divert the vessel.
Thomas was remanded in custody, with his next appearance scheduled at Portsmouth Crown Court.
- Who
- Daniel Thomas, also known as “Danny Tommo,” founder of Patriot Platform, was charged in connection with a small boat incident.
- What
- He is accused of causing criminal damage by slashing a small boat with a knife and of failing to provide his phone’s PIN; he pleaded not guilty.
- When
- The incident occurred earlier in the week before his Friday court appearance; his next hearing is scheduled for the following week.
- Where
- The boat was followed through the Channel, while Thomas appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court and is due at Portsmouth Crown Court.
- Why
- The charges relate to alleged damage to a migrant boat and Thomas’s alleged refusal to provide the PIN code for his phone.
Charges and prosecution case
Thomas’s defense
Alleged boat damage
Charges and prosecution case
Thomas was charged with criminal damage for allegedly slashing a small boat with a knife while a rescue worker was aboard.
Thomas’s defense
Thomas denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty.
Phone PIN charge
Charges and prosecution case
Thomas faces an additional charge of failing to provide the PIN code for his phone.
Thomas’s defense
Thomas also pleaded not guilty to this charge.
Protests over migrant arrivals
Charges and prosecution case
Officials and a government minister criticized recent protests, with the minister describing them as “thuggish.”
Thomas’s defense
Patriot Platform and its supporters have called for stronger action against people arriving in Britain by small boat.
- Defendant
- Daniel Thomas, 37
- Organization
- Patriot Platform
- Charges
- Criminal damage and failing to provide a phone PIN
- Alleged weapon
- A knife
- Court decision
- Thomas pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody
- Next appearance
- Portsmouth Crown Court the following week
- Recent arrivals
- 781 people arrived by small boat on Wednesday, the highest single-day total reported in 2026