Danny Tommo denied bail before migrant dinghy trial

British anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, was refused bail Tuesday in a criminal damage case over the alleged slashing of a migrant dinghy in the Channel.

A judge at Portsmouth Crown Court in southern England set a provisional trial date of March 1, 2027, and said the next pre-trial hearing would be on November 12.

Thomas, a 37-year-old roofer, has pleaded not guilty. He was charged this month after a livestreamed video showed him apparently slashing a dinghy used by migrants while an emergency responder was on board.

Thomas is a longtime ally of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. A group organised by Thomas, Patriot Platform, held protests this month in Portsmouth and Dover in which hundreds of men dressed in black and wearing face coverings blocked roads to disrupt the processing of small boat arrivals.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week that Channel boat smugglers were “changing tactics” after 781 migrants arrived in a single day on Wednesday, the highest daily figure this year.