Daniel Thomas (activist)
 | A request that this article title be changed to Danny Tommo is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
Danny Tommo | |
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.jpg) Thomas in 2025 | |
| Born | Daniel Thomas 25 December 1988 |
| Known for |
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| Children | 5 |
Daniel Thomas (born 25 December 1988[1][2]), known publicly as Danny Tommo, is a British far-right[3][4] activist and convicted criminal who founded the anti-immigration campaign group Patriot Platform. He is a former bodyguard for Tommy Robinson and a former member of the group Raise the Colours.
Background
[edit]Thomas grew up on Hayling Island near Portsmouth in Hampshire.[5] He attended a public school.[6]
Early career
[edit]Thomas served as a tank driver with the King’s Royal Hussars. However, his military career ended before he saw active service when he was medically discharged after dislocating his kneecap during bayonet training.[7]
Prior to his political activism, Thomas worked as bricklayer, a sales and marketing manager, and ran a web design firm.[8]
2016 conviction
[edit]In July 2016, Thomas pleaded guilty to attempting to kidnap, at knifepoint, a man called Graham Page. Thomas burst into Page's house along with two others, armed with knives, shouting "You're coming with us". The group falsely alleged that Page had stolen £10,000 worth of drugs from them.[8]
The judge, who sentenced Thomas to two years in prison, called the incident "extraordinarily frightening" and said it was matched only by its "stupidity".[9] The judge told Thomas and his accomplices "Go and serve your sentences, learn the lesson and for God's sake don't get involved in anything as stupid again".[2]
Political activism
[edit]Following his release from prison, Thomas became a close associate and bodyguard for English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.[9] In 2018, he was photographed with Robinson at a planning event for a UKIP “Brexit Betrayal” rally, which was held the following year.[2][8]
Thomas cultivated a following on social media platforms such as X and YouTube by regularly posting footage from anti-migrant protests, as well as interviews and viewpoints on Robinson, and supporting him during court cases.[2]
In December 2019, Thomas was arrested while taking part in a counter-rally to an anti-Trump protest outside Buckingham Palace.[8]
During the riots that followed the 2024 Southport stabbings, Thomas told his social media followers "Every city needs to go up".[10]
In April 2026, he promoted protests in Epsom after false claims had been circulated online, claiming that a woman had been gang-raped.[11][12]
Raise the Colours
[edit]In January 2026, Thomas was one of 10 British nationals banned from entering France for engaging in anti-migrant vigilantism with the group Raise the Colours.[13] The Evening Standard describes him as having been "a central part of the Raise the Colours anti-migrant group based in Birmingham".[8] According to Searchlight, in leaked voice recordings between Thomas and Raise the Colours co-founder Ryan Bridge, Thomas told Bridge that he felt it was time for him to "move away from Tommy [Robinson]" and that while he "loved him to bits", Robinson was no longer the right person for his ambitions. Searchlight states that Raise the Colours was the "vehicle Tommo initially saw as a route to a bigger role on the far right".[14] Thomas subsequently left the group after he fell out with Bridge.[15][16][17][18]
Belfast riots
[edit]In June 2026, Thomas travelled to Belfast during the 2026 Northern Ireland riots.[19] He was subsequently incorrectly identified in social media posts to be the victim of the stabbing attack that precipitated the riots. Thomas's photo appeared in posts purporting to identify the victim, who was in fact an Irish man named Stephen Ogilvie.[20][19]
Patriot Platform
[edit]Formation
[edit]After leaving Raise the Colours, Thomas formed a group called Patriot Platform, which he launched in June[2] or July 2026.[5] The website for Patriot Platform had been registered on 18 May, and Thomas first posted about the group on YouTube on 8 June.[21]
After visiting Belfast during the 2026 riots, Thomas stated: "What I’ve witnessed in Belfast has given me the inspiration to realise that when everyone gets involved who’s committed, a change can be made. We are going to produce a patriotic army of thousands and thousands of English and British men that are done with protesting, done with walking down roads, and want to make a difference."[6] According to the Daily Telegraph, Thomas set up Patriot Platform to "reclaim our borders, restore order and send a clear message: Britain belongs to the British". He has stated that he wants "discipline" from group members rather than "drinkers" or "violence", but an investigation by Hope Not Hate found that his hand-picked supporters included men with histories of criminality, including convictions for violence against women.[22] The Guardian reports that "Patriot Platform is actually the moulding together of a series of local far-right groups under a single leader".[23]
According to Searchlight, Thomas held a number of recruitment rallies for Patriot Platform during summer 2026.[24] These included one at Burton Dassett Hills, at which Searchlight reported Thomas had said to attendees; "The threat of a violent act is more powerful than the violent act itself".[25]
Thomas has raised money for Patriot Platform via an American Christian crowdfunding platform. The group sought to raise £5,000 a month to pay for transport, boats and a studio. In September 2026 alone the group raised around £9,000.[21]
Thomas has said that every member of Patriot Platform "is encouraged to give their life to Jesus [and] to go to church".[26]
Dover and Portsmouth protests
[edit]Patriot Platform was behind an anti-immigration protest that involved several hundred men wearing black clothes and balaclavas, which were described by observers as "paramilitary gear", blocking roads in Dover on 5 September 2026.[27][28][29] The group had reportedly "initially threatened to blockade Dover for three days".[30] The following night, members of the group blocked roads in Portsmouth to try to stop newly arrived migrants being taken to a processing centre.[31][32]
Thomas livestreamed the Portsmouth protest from the scene.[33] On the livestream, he filmed himself and another, bare-chested man, running along a beach, shouting at emergency workers: "You know who I am, my name is Danny Tommo, you saw what I did in Dover and if you don’t stop right now I’m calling 1,000 men to come to this place."[2] According to The National, Thomas was subsequently "widely mocked for clambering into the sea in the apparent belief that police can’t arrest people if they’re swimming".[34] A number of police officers were injured.[35] Nick Lowles of Hope Not Hate said that the protests had attracted "some of the more aggressive and more violent of the far-right activists from around the country".[33]
The day after the Portsmouth protest, Thomas interrupted Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf, who was giving an interview to media outlets in the city. Thomas told Yusuf that the party's leader, Nigel Farage, needed to be "careful with his words", after he had referred to people participating in the Unite the Kingdom march earlier in the year as "knuckle-draggers".[36] Yusuf told Thomas that "I just want to make that really clear, just so that we’re really clear about this, right? There is never any excuse for violence against police officers who are doing their job. They are taking orders, and that is what it is."[37]
Daily Mail protest
[edit]On 9 September 2026, members of Patriot Platform led by Thomas held a protest outside the London office of the Daily Mail. Thomas demanded that the newspaper buy a new house for his mother, after he said that it had "doxxed” her by publishing the name of the town she lives in and the name of his roofing firm, which he had publicly registered to the address, saying that if this did not happen within 48 hours then he would return with a larger group of men.[38][39][40] Thomas later appealed for donations online to help his mother move house.[40] During the protest Thomas offered to pay supporters, in cash, for any work they had missed to attend.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Thomas has five children.[7]
Christianity
[edit]Christian faith has become part of Thomas' public persona. He was photographed at St Lawrence Church, Morden in February and March 2026, and has said: "I have repented my sins and, under Jesus Christ, I am a new man".[21]
The BBC described Thomas' public Christianity as potentially "a way of painting the UK as a Christian country, and Muslim immigrants as outsiders".[21]
2026 Port of Dover charges
[edit]In August 2026, Thomas pleaded guilty at Margate Magistrates' Court to one charge and not guilty to another five charges, relating to attempts he allegedly made to film asylum seekers who had been rescued from small boats in the English Channel as they were landed at the Port of Dover. He pleaded guilty to entering a restricted harbour area and not guilty to charges including using threatening or abusive words or behaviour and using racially abusive words or behaviour, with the next hearing in October 2026.[41][42]
References
[edit]- ↑ POLICE BOXED US IN On The Way To Church With My Son In The Car!. 13 September 2026. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ross, Alex (7 September 2026). "The Tommy Robinson associate behind Portsmouth and Dover anti-migrant protests". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Hope, Christopher (1 December 2018). "Revealed: far-Right Ukip Brexit demo 'organiser' is a convicted kidnapper". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 5. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Ross, Alex (7 September 2026). "Who is Danny Tommo? The far-right activist who brought protests to Portsmouth". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- 1 2 Sandford, Daniel (7 September 2026). "What we know about anti-migrant protests and organiser Danny Thomas". BBC. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- 1 2 Burgess, Sanya (7 September 2026). "The ex-public schoolboy behind small boat demos – who hasn't stopped a single dinghy". The i Paper. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Who is Danny Tommo, the Portsmouth local behind multiple anti-migrant protests?". The News. 8 September 2026. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Yadav, Niva (7 September 2026). "Who is 'Danny Tommo'? Tommy Robinson ally at centre of anti-migrant protests". The Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- 1 2 Beal, James (6 September 2026). "Who is 'Danny Tommo', the man behind Port of Dover protests?". The Times. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Gadher, Dipesh (9 May 2026). "Far-right vigilante detained over 'stop the boats' mission". The Times. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Gohil, Neha (17 April 2026). "Police say no evidence found of reported gang-rape in Epsom". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Trilling, Daniel (7 September 2026). "Masks Off". London Review of Books. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ Burgess, Sanya; Forrest, Adam (6 September 2026). "Everything we know about Dover protesters... who stopped the wrong boats". The i Paper. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Is Danny Tommo a threat or a clown? Actually, he's a bit of both". Searchlight. 9 September 2026. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
- ↑ Burgess, Sanya (19 January 2026). "British vigilantes turn on each other as anti-migrant group splinters". The i Paper. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ↑ Taylor, Diane (19 January 2026). "'They're emboldened': British far-right activists step up harassment of asylum seekers in northern France". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ↑ "Betrayal and 'sinister' threats as Danny Tommo splits from Raise the Colours". Searchlight. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ↑ Sandford, Daniel (12 September 2026). "Masked men, lorries and road blocks: How anti-migrant activists are changing tactics". BBC. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Belfast knife attack: False images, misinformation fuel anti-immigration riots". France 24. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Fact Check: Anti-immigration activist incorrectly identified as Belfast knife victim". Reuters. 12 June 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Sandford, Daniel (12 September 2026). "Hardened activists are changing tactics and mobilising the anti-migrant vote". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Hymas, Charles; McArdle, Tom (7 September 2026). "Danny Tommo: The would-be kidnapper who broke ranks with Tommy Robinson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Rawlinson, Kevin (7 September 2026). "What is Patriot Platform, the far-right group that descended on Dover and Portsmouth?". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Katz, Daniel (6 September 2026). "Danny Tommo's sinister flash mob shuts down Dover – but where were the police?". Searchlight. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Danny Tommo hosts 'patriotic' damp squib at Midlands dogging site". Searchlight. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Hill, Patrick (12 September 2026). "Patriot Platform leader Danny Tommo Thomas plans to lay siege to asylum centres". www.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Hall, Rachel (6 September 2026). "Black-clad Dover vigilantes will return if police do not act, say campaigners". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Police response to Dover protests set to come under scrutiny, as Tommy Robinson associate appears to claim credit". Sky News. 6 September 2026. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ "Patriot Platform's masked members march on Dover". Hope Not Hate. 5 September 2026. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- ↑ Sawer, Patrick; Bird, Steve (5 September 2026). "Dover anti-migrant blockade 'exposes police failures'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Taylor, Diane; Moloney, Charlie (7 September 2026). "Hundreds of far-right protesters descend on Portsmouth after small boat arrival". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Hundreds of protesters gather in Portsmouth after small boat arrival - as 'thuggish' behaviour condemned". Sky News. 7 September 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- 1 2 Jones, Simon; Graham, Chris; Rhoden-Paul, André (7 September 2026). "Protesters block roads in Portsmouth after 140 migrants arrive in boat". BBC. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Far-right agitator Danny Tommo runs into sea to cower from police in bizarre video". The National. 7 September 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ "Officers injured and vehicles damaged during anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth - as police hunt suspects". Sky News. 7 September 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Lithgow, George; Hughes, David; Allingham, Pol; Davis, Margaret (7 September 2026). "Migrant protest founder confronts Reform UK over Farage's 'knuckle-dragger' jibe". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Brown, Kelly (7 September 2026). "Founder of the group behind anti-immigration protests interrupts interview with Reform's Zia Yusuf in Portsmouth". The News. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Beal, James (9 September 2026). "The man who 'Danny Tommo' tried to kidnap brands the activist an idiot". The Times. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Danny Tommo doxxes his own mum and blames the Daily Mail". Searchlight. 10 September 2026. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
- 1 2 Gentleman, Amelia (12 September 2026). "From black-clad agitators to an appeal for 'Tommo's Mum': an unsettling week with the Patriot Platform". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
- ↑ Katz, Daniel (27 August 2026). "'Racially abusive' Danny Tommo faces trial over Dover exploits". Searchlight. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
- ↑ Bancroft, Holly (27 August 2026). "Anti-migrant activist charged after 'breaking into Port of Dover to shout at boat arrivals'". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2026.