Anti-migration activist Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, has been charged following an incident involving a boat in the English Channel as around 200 protesters gathered outside a police investigation centre in basingstoke/">Basingstoke. Thomas, 37, of no fixed abode, has been charged with one count of criminal damage, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed on Thursday night. He has also been charged with an offence under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for allegedly failing to comply with a notice requiring him to disclose his phone PIN. The charges relate to an allegation that a boat was damaged in the English Channel on Tuesday, 22 September, while an emergency responder was on board. Thomas was remanded in custody and is due to appear via video link at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 25 September. The charging decision came as around 200 people gathered outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke on Thursday evening. Protesters began arriving shortly before 6.30 pm and could be heard chanting “free DT”. The gathering followed Thomas’s arrest on Wednesday after footage circulated online appearing to show him using a knife to damage an inflatable boat in the Channel. The footage appeared to show a rescue crew member on the vessel at the time. Thomas had initially been arrested on suspicion of several offences, including criminal damage with intent to endanger life and maritime-related offences. However, the charges subsequently authorised against him are one count of criminal damage and the separate alleged failure to disclose his phone PIN. The distinction is significant: an arrest on suspicion of an offence does not mean that a person has ultimately been charged with that offence. The Basingstoke gathering comes amid heightened tensions surrounding small boat crossings and a series of protests in Hampshire. Many of those protesting have expressed anger about the Government’s handling of Channel crossings and what they see as a disparity between the treatment of people arriving in small boats and those facing criminal investigation following attempts to intervene. Claims circulating on social media that every person arriving by small boat is automatically given a hotel, new mobile phone, new clothing and spending money should not, however, be presented as fact without qualification. Immigration status and accommodation arrangements vary, and people arriving irregularly can be detained, placed in asylum accommodation or dealt with through other immigration processes depending on their circumstances. The criminal proceedings against Thomas are separate from the wider political debate over immigration and Channel crossings. Following confirmation that Thomas had been charged, the crowd outside the Basingstoke investigation centre dispersed peacefully. Thomas is now due before magistrates on Friday, where the criminal proceedings against him will continue.
Originally published by UKNIP.
