[REVISION HISTORY]

English Channel migrant crossing tensions

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-23 08:48 UTC → 2026-09-23 16:15 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The situation regarding migrant crossings in the English Channel has seen a shift from individual attempts to infiltrate smuggling operations to organized anti-migrant activism. Initially, accounts emerged of a British man attempting to join human smuggling operations by spending a year gathering intelligence and preparing to board a dinghy bound for Britain. He reported significant difficulties in navigating French beaches and communicating with traffickers. More recently, tensions have escalated through the actions of activist Daniel Thomas, also known as ‘Danny Tommo’. During a livestreamed event, Thomas was filmed using a blade to slash an inflatable dinghy containing lifejackets while a rescue worker was still on board, shouting, “Let’s get rid of that boat.” The Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants condemned the act as violent and dangerous. Following this, Thomas came under police investigation after footage of the incident reached approximately 100,000 viewers. In the video, Thomas is seen approaching a vessel carrying roughly 60 asylum seekers and shouting, “This is England. This is not France any more,” while repeatedly telling a rescue worker to “Get off the boat.” The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and French authorities have emphasized the dangers of such interference during life-saving operations. The incident coincided with organized anti-immigration protests in Gosport, Hampshire, where hundreds gathered to disrupt asylum seeker arrivals, though Border Force vessels diverted the group to Dover. Police have confirmed they are conducting enquiries and have made six arrests in connection with separate anti-migrant protests in the region, including charges for assaulting an emergency worker. In response to recent security concerns, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command following two instances where migrant boats reached the Kent coast undetected within a two-day period.

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