What we know about anti-migrant protests and organiser Danny Thomas

Read the original at BBC News ↗
Cite

Sandford, D. (2026, September 7). What we know about anti-migrant protests and organiser Danny Thomas. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpq0nn1l7w0o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-09-07 · by Daniel Sandford

Quick Summary

Anti-migrant protests took place in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend, with hundreds of people participating in disruptions at both locations. The protests were organized by Danny Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, who has a history of campaigning against migrants and was previously jailed for attempting to kidnap a man at knifepoint in 2016. According to the article, Thomas seems to have coordinated the protests through social media after Border Force officials inadvertently allowed him to mobilize his local support. The protests involved men in balaclavas blocking roads and were described as "well-organised and disciplined" by the article.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-07, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth after 140 asylum seekers were rescued from a dinghy. Daniel Thomas, an associate of Tommy Robinson, led the protests near Eastney beach. Two RNLI lifeboats and a Coast Guard helicopter ensured the migrants reached shore safely. Demonstrators blocked traffic and vowed to stay all night, preventing authorities from transporting the migrants to Kent. The government condemned the protest as intimidating and thuggish, while praising emergency services for managing the situation peacefully. Thomas is also linked to protests in Dover, highlighting growing anti-migrant sentiment across Britain. Border Force's decision to bring migrants ashore at Eastney landing stage facilitated Thomas's mobilization efforts through social media. The incident underscores ongoing debates over immigration policy and enforcement measures.

Written for “Anti-Migrant Protests Portsmouth” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Anti-Migrant Protests Portsmouth
Politics · 14 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 22 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the same protest in Dover on the same day, September 5th”
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 8 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the same protest at Dover port on Saturday, with masked anti-immigrant protesters blocking roads and causing traffic disruptions.”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 23 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles report on a protest in Dover involving hundreds of masked men, causing road blockages and access issues to the port, occurring on Saturday.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 10% hedged 4 of 39 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the same protest in Dover, with similar details and a mention of Danny Thomas as the organizer”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 36 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles describe the same anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth, where protesters blocked roads and tried to stop migrants from leaving the city on Sunday night.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 24 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe a protest in Portsmouth and mention anti-migrant activists trying to block asylum seekers, on the same date (September 6), with article A providing more details about the specific incident and article B discussing the organizer of protests that occurred around the same time”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 42 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the same anti-migrant protest that occurred in Portsmouth, with Article A focusing on the chaotic scenes and clashes with riot police, while Article B discusses the organizer Danny Thomas and its connection to a separate protest in Dover.”
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 11 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe the same anti-immigrant protest in Portsmouth on September 6, with similar details about the protesters' behavior and the government's condemnation”
Evening Standard
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 2 of 42 📰 publisher trust 65
“Both articles report on anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth and Dover, organized by Danny Thomas, on the same date (Sunday) with similar details.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 2 of 32 📰 publisher trust 65
“Both articles describe the same anti-migrant protests that took place in Portsmouth, with masked demonstrators blocking roads and coaches carrying migrants attempting to leave.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
14
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4057 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Daniel Sandford
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He was told he faced a new charge of preparing terrorist acts between 31 May 2024 and 8 July 2026 by carrying out research on targets and travelling to, and attempting to gain entry to, the home of Nigel Farage.
🔮 The website for Patriot Platform was registered on 18 May this year, two days after a big anti-immigration "Unite the Kingdom" march in London.
🔮 In a video posted on Wednesday and apparently filmed with supporters in the north west of England, Thomas tells a group of men gathered on a playing field that "something is about to go down and men from all round the country will be involved in it". "Once we pull this off it will snowball in the entire country," he says later in the clip, in which he also tells the group the movement is about "boxing clever" and exercising "discipline".
🔮 - Published More than 170 migrants have been rescued after the boat they were using to cross the Channel caught fire on Tuesday morning, as the UK government said "all will be returned" to France.
Also by Daniel Sandford
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Daniel Sandford →

Topics

Border Force Dover Hayling Island Portsmouth RNLI

Subjects

Dover GPE · 5× Thomas PERSON · 5× Portsmouth GPE · 4× Border Force ORG · 2× Hayling Island GPE · 2× Baie de Seine GPE · 1× Christian NORP · 1× Danny Thomas PERSON · 1× Danny Tommo PERSON · 1× RNLI ORG · 1×

Narrative

When Border Force then had to decide where to ask the RNLI to bring a boatful of migrants ashore on Sunday after an unusual longer English Channel crossing from Baie de Seine, it opted for the Eastney landing stage. The very place where the passenger ferry departs Portsmouth for Hayling Island. Whether this decision was made through ignorance or incompetence, it made it very easy for Thomas to mobilise his local support late on Sunday using social media.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 In a video posted on Wednesday and apparently filmed with supporters in the north west of England, Thomas tells a group of men gathered on a playing field that "something is about to go down and men from all round the country will be involved in it". "Once we pull this off it will snowball in the entire country," he says later in the clip, in which he also tells the group the movement is about "boxing clever" and exercising "discipline".
2026-09-07 · BBC News
What we know about anti-migrant protests and organiser Danny Thomas · assertive framing

Claims (22 extracted, 0 hedged)

- Published This weekend saw hundreds of people take part in two anti-migrant protests. asserted
hundreds → publish → protests
But how are they linked? asserted
they → link → ?
The answer is one man - Danny Thomas, more often known as Danny Tommo - and some apparently poor decision-making by Border Force officials. asserted
answer → know → officials
Saturday's protest in Dover saw men in black clothing and balaclavas block the town's main roads for several hours. asserted
men → see → hours
It was organised by Thomas - seemingly after weeks of plotting over the summer - who comes from Hayling Island near Portsmouth. asserted
who → organise → Portsmouth
When Border Force then had to decide where to ask the RNLI to bring a boatful of migrants ashore on Sunday after an unusual longer English Channel crossing from Baie de Seine, it opted for the Eastney landing stage. The very place where the passenger ferry departs Portsmouth for Hayling Island. Whether this decision was made through ignorance or incompetence, it made it very easy for Thomas to mobilise his local support late on Sunday using social media. asserted
Thomas → have → media
Thomas is a long-term campaigner against migrants and says he is a Christian. asserted
he → say → migrants
"Christ is King!" was shouted alongside "Stop the boats!" at the Dover protest. asserted
Christ → shout → protest
He first came to public attention in 2016 when he was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to attempting to kidnap at knifepoint a man called Graham Page. asserted
he → come → man
When he left prison, he became a close associate of the anti-migrant and anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. asserted
name → leave → activist
They appear to be less close now, though Robinson has expressed support for this weekend's protests. asserted
Robinson → appear → protests
Thomas has spent the last year filming himself harassing migrants on the beaches of France, and sharing the videos on social media. asserted
himself → spend → media
In July, he announced a new venture called Patriot Platform and has been drumming up support for what he called "mass resistance", without violence. asserted
he → announce → violence
It describes itself as a movement by "the sons and daughters of this island" designed to "take our country back". asserted
It → describe → country
In a video posted on Wednesday and apparently filmed with supporters in the north west of England, Thomas tells a group of men gathered on a playing field that "something is about to go down and men from all round the country will be involved in it". "Once we pull this off it will snowball in the entire country," he says later in the clip, in which he also tells the group the movement is about "boxing clever" and exercising "discipline". asserted
movement → post → discipline
"We create a violent movement now, what do you think is gonna happen? asserted
you → create → movement
We'll get nicked," he says. asserted
he → nick → ?
The Dover balaclava protest, well-organised and disciplined, was the group's first outing. asserted
protest → organise → ?
He seems to be borrowing ideas from groups like Just Stop Oil. asserted
He → seem → Oil
Kent Police described the protest in Dover as "spontaneous", but the force has since faced questions as to why it did not know about it in advance. asserted
it → describe → advance
The government has meanwhile condemned the "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" of protesters in Portsmouth. asserted
government → condemn → Portsmouth
A spokesperson added: "The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder." asserted
it → add → disorder
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