Far-right U.K. activist arrested after migrant dinghy slashed in the English Channel

LONDON — A far-right activist who has led protests against migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has been arrested for allegedly slashing a dinghy in the water.

A video posted on social media appears to show Daniel Thomas, 37, taking a knife to an inflatable boat, which was empty of migrants but had a rescue services member aboard, while shouting “You’re in English territory.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said Thursday that a 37-year-old man was arrested the previous evening on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life and endangering the safety of a vessel. It said he remained in custody on Thursday.

British police do not identify suspects by name until they are charged.

Thomas, who goes by the nickname Danny Tommo, is a longtime associate of far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. Patriot Platform, a group Thomas founded, is behind recent protests in which masked, black-clad men tried to stop migrants reaching the U.K.

Earlier this month, masked demonstrators blocked the port of Dover, in southeast England, and tried to stop migrants being taken ashore in Portsmouth on the country’s south coast.

Successive U.K. governments have struggled to stop people…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world