Protests broke out at the weekend against small boats crossings in Dover and Portsmouth this weekend.
And at the centre of the disruption was one of Tommy Robinson’s close associates.
Daniel Thomas – who goes by the nickname Danny Tommo – is often referred to as the English Defence League (EDL) co-founder’s right-hand man and launched the far-right group behind the riots, Patriot Platform, this summer.
The 37-year-old campaigner was among activists spotted at the protest on Saturday, which brought traffic to a standstill on the A20.
He was also present at another demonstration on Sunday following the arrival of a dinghy carrying migrants in Portsmouth.
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Speaking while standing in the sea at Eastney beach, Thomas said protesters had blocked all routes to prevent authorities from bringing the migrants anywhere else.
He said on a livestream: ‘It was only yesterday (at the protests in Dover) when we warned them that we will not accept this anymore, and that this is no longer an option to tell us that the boat numbers are down.
‘This isn’t about the numbers being down… this is about understanding that this has to come to an end now.’
The Home Office condemned protesters’ ‘intimidating and thuggish behaviour’, adding that demonstrations should not ‘cross the line into disorder’.
Formerly a key member of the Raise the Colours anti-migrant campaign, Thomas was a speaker at a protest organised by Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – in Westminster following the fatal 2024 stabbings in Southport.
After three young girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, Thomas told his online supporters to ‘mobilise’, calling for ‘every city to go up’.
Both he and Robinson were previously members of UKIP, the eurosceptic party formerly led by Reform leader Nigel Farage.
Thomas previously worked as a tank driver for the King’s Royal Hussars, an armoured regiment of the British Army.
He is understood to have been discharged on medical grounds without having performed any active service.
He served two years in prison in 2016 for breaking into a man’s house brandishing knives, accusing the owner of having stolen £10,000 of drugs from him.
Following his spell behind bars, he claims to have turned to God and Christianity, with his X bio referring to ‘trusting in Jesus Christ’ and posts quoting Bible passages.
However, he has continued to have run-ins with the police, including a standoff at a protest following Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament in 2019.
He was also detained by officers at a counter-protest clashing with anti-Trump demonstrations during the US president’s second state visit to the UK last year.
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