Daniel Thomas has been remanded in custody at Portsmouth Crown Court ahead of a provisional trial over allegations that he slashed a migrant boat in the English Channel while a rescue worker was on board.
Thomas, 37, who is known to supporters as Danny Tommo, appeared by videolink wearing a grey T-shirt and holding a Bible. He denies criminal damage and failing to disclose the PIN for his mobile phone to police.
Judge James Newton-Price KC refused bail and set a provisional trial date of 1 March next year. Thomas is due to appear at a further hearing on 12 November.
The defendant, a father of four, has chosen to have both charges heard by a jury at the Crown Court. The charge relating to his phone is brought under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Simon Pentol KC, defending, had offered a package of bail conditions. He told the court Thomas understood that any breach could result in him being returned to custody and was prepared to accept that risk to return to his family.
Judge Newton-Price said: “I am not concerned with the political issues or motivations in this matter and I put them aside in deciding this matter.”
The allegations were outlined at an earlier hearing at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court. Prosecutor Kevin Lucie said Thomas had taken a boat into the Channel and seen migrants in a small boat being assisted by the RNLI, Border Force and the French Coastguard.
Mr Lucie alleged that Thomas instructed his boat to be steered towards an empty rigid inflatable boat that was adrift before taking out a knife. Rescue crews were approaching the dinghy and a Frenchman had boarded from a rescue vessel, the court heard.
The prosecutor said the boat was heard leaking air after it had allegedly been slashed. Thomas was said to have shouted: “This is what needs to happen to everyone in these boats. Right, you’re on English territory.”
He allegedly continued: “This is England, this is not France anymore. Get off the boat, you have time to get off the boat. This is not France. Take them back.”
Mr Lucie also told the court that police requested the PIN for Thomas’s iPhone 17 Pro Max after he livestreamed his arrest at a BP petrol station.
Thomas was denied bail at the magistrates’ court last Thursday, when he was seen wiping his eyes during a videolink hearing. His supporters include fellow right-wing protester Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who said on social media that he was praying for Thomas’s release.
The case follows a protest outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke, where several hundred people gathered believing Thomas was inside. Dozens of police officers monitored the group during the demonstration.
