British rescue vessels sent to collect passengers on UK-bound dinghy after anti-migrant activist tailed small boat through Channel
Daniel Thomas is in a speedboat tailing the vessel, which has spent the last 24 hours in the Channel.
British rescue vessels have been sent to rescue small boat passengers that left Normandy for the UK after an anti-migrant activist livestreamed his pursuit of the dinghy heading through the Channel.
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British rescue boats were sent to collect the migrants after they spent more than 30 hours at sea.
Anti-migrant Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, claimed on social media he was going into the Channel to find the boat after it emerged it had departed from Normandy.
Livestream footage posted to Youtube shows the activist on a speedboat tailing the dinghy, which appeared to have set off close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux, a day ago.
It reportedly picked up around 11 people at Côte Fleurie, 30 miles east down the coast.
The activist speculated that the dinghy later ran out of fuel as footage appeared to show it at a standstill.
“The boat was in a very bad way, and very low in the water, with just a single small outboard motor to power it," a spokesperson for local rescue services told The Sun.
"The sea was calm, and weather conditions were good, but the decision was taken to escort the boat, without intervening,” they added.
The RNLI told LBC two of its lifeboats were tasked to an incident by HM Coastguard.
Mr Thomas, the founder of anti-migration group Patriot Platform and an associate of political activist Tommy Robinson – was a leader of the Portsmouth protest and organised the Dover demonstration.
Departures as far west as Normandy are rare.
Starlink is turned on and live is back in action. @RealDannyTommo and crew have eyes on.https://t.co/dOw8S5NeU8 pic.twitter.com/9GW12ga4Fc
— Anth 🇬🇧 (@AnthNFS) September 22, 2026
Earlier this month, a dinghy had to be met by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight having set off from the Cherbourg area, triggering angry protests in Portsmouth.
It is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat.
Officials said at the time they believed it was a one-off rather than a sign of new tactics.
Earlier on Tuesday, a minister insisted the UK’s borders are secure after a migrant boat reached the Kent coast without being intercepted.
Two RNLI lifeboats have been tasked to an incident by HM Coastguard.
Five people were detained and passed to Border Security Command after the dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday – the first undetected landing for a year.
Defence minister Luke Pollard dismissed suggestions the Government had lost control of the border.
“Our borders are secure, but we want to make them stronger,” he told LBC.
Asked how the boat slipped through, Mr Pollard said a Home Office investigation was under way to determine what had happened, without going into detail.
"That is what the investigation will determine. We know that the measures we've been putting in place are working. Small boat crossings are the lowest in 6 years," he told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
A migrant dinghy just landed on a Kent beach. They crossed the Channel and walked onto British sand and the authorities did not even see them coming.
— Danny Tommo (@RealDannyTommo) September 21, 2026
That is why the Patriot Platform is so important.
Sign up: https://t.co/Eln3QsJL5i pic.twitter.com/mdv5G5j6QE
The thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats.
No small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort have been officially recorded since September 6 2025.
Some 17,480 migrants have arrived after crossing the Channel by boat so far this year, including 5,011 since Andy Burnham became prime minister.
The 2026 total is down 46% on the same point last year.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”