Shocking moment anti-migrant activist uses knife to slash small boat in Channel with rescue worker on board

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In the video, Tommy Robinson associate Daniel Thomas could be seen leaning over from his speedboat, brandishing a knife which he attempted to puncture the vessel with.

The footage, which Thomas was livestreaming on his YouTube, also appears to show a suspected rescue worker still on board.

Far-right activist Thomas, known online as Danny Tommo, has since been accused of 'crossing the line' in a wave of backlash.

Sharing the clip on X, campaigners Stand Up to Racism wrote: "What a violent far right thug Tommo is. We’re going to stop him and his hate. If he mobilises again in Portsmouth tonight, we’ll be opposing him."

X account The Rev. Anton Mittens wrote: "Absolutely shocking behaviour. Lock him up - he’s out of control. Danny Tommo slashes a migrant’s rubber dinghy just as rescuers complete their final checks on board during a rescue operation in the English Channel."

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Earlier, the RNLI deployed two lifeboats to a dinghy which had been heading to the UK.

It had been shadowed by the French coastguard after setting off close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux.

The French coastguard said on Tuesday around 60 migrants on a small boat, which spent more than 33 hours at sea “in precarious conditions” refused help as they were “determined to take all risks to reach the United Kingdom”.

The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the migrants are set to be transferred to Border Security Command following a rescue operation.

The RNLI confirmed to LBC two lifeboats were responding to an incident in the Channel.

“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.

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.

Earlier this month, a dinghy had to be met by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight after setting 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.

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.”

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson later said they "are aware of a video circulating online relating to damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on the afternoon of 22 September, and we are conducting inquiries into the matter.”