Skip to main content

Patriot Platform

Patriot Platform

Type: Far-right anti-migrant network / umbrella "patriot" movement (UK-wide, cell-based) Founded: Launched end of May / June 2026 (Searchlight says end of May; Guardian and HOPE not hate both say June) Founder/Leader: Daniel Thomas, aka Danny Tommo (b. ~1989, age 37) Website: patriotplatform.co.uk Primary social: X — @RealDannyTommo (YouTube channel also primary; £4.99/month membership tier) Status: Active — first mass mobilisations 5–7 September 2026 (Dover, Portsmouth) BookStack page: 1025 — https://wiki.beanfarmer.cymru/books/uk-politics/page/patriot-platform Tags: #uk #far-right #anti-immigration #christian-nationalist #vigilante #movement #reference

Overview

Patriot Platform is a UK far-right network formed in mid-2026 by Daniel Thomas — "Danny Tommo" — the former bodyguard and long-time sidekick of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson). It is not a political party and has no manifesto. Its stated purpose is to unite the country's fragmented local "patriot" groups into a single mobilisable force operating "boots on the ground".

The group's first major public action came on Saturday 5 September 2026, when several hundred masked men dressed head-to-toe in black appeared in Dover at 7am, occupied roundabouts and blocked the A20 in both directions, causing a four-mile traffic queue. The following day (Sunday 6 September) the group joined an existing demonstration in Portsmouth, after a "mega-dinghy" carrying around 120–140 asylum seekers was brought into the Solent. Protesters tried to prevent coaches moving arrivals from Eastney marina to an immigration processing centre; riot police used batons and pepper spray, a small number of officers were injured, and vehicles were damaged.

Commentators and monitors describe the Dover/Portsmouth weekend as a genuine shift in UK far-right tactics: away from mass flag-waving demonstrations towards smaller, disciplined, networked, clandestine and quasi-vigilante action, explicitly styled on Oswald Mosley's blackshirts and wrapped in aggressive Christian-nationalist language ("Christ is King"). Anti-fascist monitors HOPE not hate and Searchlight both treat it as significant while noting Tommo's long record of failed and farcical stunts.

Key Figures

Daniel Thomas — "Danny Tommo" (founder and leader)

  • Age: 37 (as of September 2026)
  • From: Hayling Island, near Portsmouth (privately educated in Hampshire)
  • Background: Thought to have served as a tank driver with the King's Royal Hussars before being discharged early on medical grounds. Later ran a roofing firm — RMT Roofing Specialists Ltd — a detail that becomes relevant to the September 2026 Daily Mail row (see below).
  • Criminal record: Jailed for two years in 2016 after pleading guilty to attempted kidnapping at knifepoint in a Portsmouth drugs dispute. He and two other men burst into a man's house, wrongly believing he had stolen £10,000 of drugs, and tried to drag him into the street. The judge condemned the three men for their "stupidity"; Tommo was released and describes himself as having "repented" and given his life to Jesus.
  • Far-right career: Became close to Tommy Robinson after release; organised the 2018 "Free Tommy" rally in London; was on the platform with Robinson at the July 2024 Whitehall rally; during the August 2024 Southport riots broadcast a video to followers saying "Every city must go up!" — he was not prosecuted while others were jailed for similar incitement.
  • 2025–26: Holiday with Robinson in Tenerife (June 2025); joined Ryan Bridge and Elliott Stanley's Raise the Colours for "Operation Overlord II" and an anti-migrant trip to northern France (November 2025); part of a group of 10 British extremists banned from France in January 2026; defied the ban by entering France via Belgium for "Operation Overlord" in January 2026 before being arrested by counter-terror police. Also arrested in Dover in April 2026 over stalking refugees/illegal activity at the port.
  • Due in court: October 2026, accused of going into a restricted zone in Dover earlier in 2026 and of threatening behaviour.
  • Note on the "Tommo Tapes": Leaked recordings published by Searchlight (May 2026) captured Tommo telling Ryan Bridge it was time to "move away from Tommy", saying he still "loved him to bits" but that Robinson was no longer right for what he wanted to achieve — an early signal of his leadership ambitions.
  • Reporting discrepancy: the Guardian describes him as a father of five; The New Arab says father of four.

Named members / inner circle

HOPE not hate has documented that several men "handpicked" for what Tommo calls a rigorously vetted group have serious violent convictions:

  • Kevin Jones — Thanet Patriots; attended the first Patriot Platform meeting. In 2018 pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, two counts of wounding and two counts of assault during a drug-fuelled incident in which he attacked his partner and her mother with a bread knife and then drove his father's car into his partner's home. Jailed for three years and four months.
  • Adrian Clark — leading Thanet Patriots member; suspended sentence in 2018 for ABH after punching a co-worker several times in the face; prior convictions for common assault and assaulting a police officer. Filmed in August 2026 saying: "we've all done stupid shit, but if any of these other people want to sit out there and say 'oh you're a domestic abuser', what do you think these people on the boats have a better criminal record than me? You having a laugh?" — while promoting Patriot Platform and the Kalergi Plan conspiracy theory.
  • Alby Brannan — attended the second meeting of "vetted" members; pleaded guilty in 2024 to violent disorder after throwing fireworks at the Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, which houses asylum seekers.
  • Luke Jackson, Billy Cooper and "Sid" — South London Patriots; all part of Tommo's January 2026 Operation Overlord trip to Calais in defiance of the French ban.
  • Jay Mills — Christian nationalist from Ashford, Kent; led Patriots United Kingdom, which briefly affiliated to Patriot Platform in late July 2026 before withdrawing (see Timeline).

Constituent Groups

Patriot Platform functions as a network of reps from pre-existing local groups rather than a single hierarchical organisation. Groups named in reporting include:

  • Thanet Patriots
  • Watford Patriots
  • Bournemouth Patriots
  • South East Patriots
  • South London Patriots
  • North-West Patriots
  • Surrey Patriots
  • Chertsey Patriots
  • Freelance Patriots
  • Patriots United Kingdom (affiliated late July 2026, left within days)

Its appeal is primarily southern England, with some north-west representation.

Ideology & Rhetoric

The group has no manifesto. Its website (patriotplatform.co.uk) uses five one-word values — Freedom, Fairness, Family, Faith, Homeland — and slogans such as "Real People. Real Britain. Real Talk.", "The time for polite silence is over", "Love of country. Not hate." and "Together, we will take our country back." It offers three steps for recruits: Register → Stay informed (email and SMS updates) → Get involved.

Key framings:

  • Christian nationalism — Tommo calls it a "patriotic army" of Christian men: "We're doing this under Christianity. We're doing this with Christian British and English men. We're not doing this with thugs." Chants at Dover included "Christ is King"; some marchers wore silver crosses. Donors to his fundraising pages can press a button to pledge prayer instead of money.
  • Protecting women and children — the central emotional pitch, with manosphere undertones (the "misogynistic suggestion that women are helpless people needing to be protected", per University of Bath researcher Darja Wischerath).
  • Direct action over protest — "For too long we've been walking down roads and waving flags and thinking this is somehow going to save us"; "Migrants are having a detrimental effect on the safety of our women and children."
  • Discipline and "quality over quantity" — Tommo claims vetting, "clear rules, no shouting, no alcohol, no flag waving, no drugs", lawyers on call, and says he wants "discipline" rather than "the drinkers" and "the violence". Monitors call this claim belied by the criminal records of his named members.
  • Vague menace — "I know exactly what needs to be done. Now is the time to act"; "once the message is sent once, imagine the sheer numbers that will be sent on the second, the third, the fourth message."

Structure, Tactics & Money

  • Cell/network model. Analysts describe Patriot Platform as connecting disparate local "patriot" formations rather than building a single organisation — a relatively small, committed set of activists travelling between coastal flashpoints, communicating privately, and drawing local support on arrival.
  • Uniform and anonymity. Black clothing, balaclavas and gloves. Tommo says the coverings are necessary because "the left routinely puts lives at risk" by publishing addresses. In Portsmouth he said the group was non-violent and acting within the law, and blamed violence on "lefties trying to make us look bad".
  • Mobilisation. Short-notice, algorithm-driven flashmobbing. Kent Police described the Dover action as "spontaneous"; the local MP Mike Tapp called that claim into question — "A clearly coordinated protest is not 'spontaneous'." HOPE not hate subsequently reported that Kent Police had been tipped off about the mobilisation.
  • Livestreaming. Tommo livestreams extensively across X, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. His footage of the Dover weekend has been reported at over a million views in total; one four-hour livestream of the Portsmouth seafront operation drew 700,000+ views.
  • Money. A £4.99/month subscription on his YouTube channel; monthly Patriot Platform fundraising targets (an initial £5,000/month target reportedly fell short) with stated costs for buses, accommodation, "secure facilities", fuel, studio equipment and marine equipment; and in September 2026 a crowdfunder to relocate his mother that had raised over £62,000 by Friday 11 September.
  • Historical funding. The New Arab reported that US court documents show Tommo received a $32,000 grant in 2018 from the Middle East Forum, a US-based anti-Islam and strongly pro-Israel think tank, to fund the "Free Tommy" rally. The relationship later broke down, with MEF accusing him of misappropriating at least $7,000 for personal use — allegations aired in the think tank's unsuccessful lawsuit against its then communications chief, Lisa Barbounis.
  • Other money disputes. Tommo's partnership with Ryan Bridge's Raise the Colours collapsed after Bridge refused to hand over part of online fundraising proceeds to pay Tommo a salary; Tommo complained publicly that he was "skint".

Timeline (2024 – September 2026)

Date Event
July 2024 On platform with Tommy Robinson at Whitehall rally
Aug 2024 "Every city must go up!" video during the Southport riots — not prosecuted
Nov 2025 "Operation Overlord II" with Raise the Colours — anti-migrant stunts in northern France
Jan 2026 France bans Tommo and 9 other British anti-migrant activists; he returns via Belgium for "Operation Overlord", is arrested by counter-terror police
Apr 2026 Arrested in Dover over stalking refugees at the port
May 2026 "Tommo Tapes" leaked recordings: Tommo discusses moving "away from Tommy"
Late May / June 2026 Patriot Platform launched with a recruitment drive; calls on "the strong… the able" to "build an army of patriots" and get "boots on the ground"
15 June 2026 Claim of 30,000 sign-ups (later 40,000, then 45,000)
19 July 2026 First Patriot Platform meeting — Black Dam and Crabtree Nature Reserve, Basingstoke
29 July 2026 Patriots United Kingdom (Jay Mills) announces it has joined Patriot Platform
~5 Aug 2026 Patriots UK withdraws within days — Mills says there was "No split" but he doesn't want to be "associated with certain members"; tetchy exchange follows with Platform activist Billy Cooper
9 Aug 2026 Basingstoke meet-up at the Bolton Arch — 50+ supporters in black t-shirts; Searchlight dubs it "pound shop Nuremberg". Chants of "I'm England till I die"; Tommo invokes a grandfather "at D-Day"
22 Aug 2026 Patriot Platform "recruitment day" at an undisclosed location in "Middle England"
5 Sep 2026 Dover. Hundreds of masked men in black block the A20 into the port; 4-mile queues; "blood is on your hands" sprayed outside a processing facility; no arrests
6 Sep 2026 Portsmouth. Platform joins/steers a demo after ~120–140 people are landed at Eastney marina; clashes with riot police, injuries, vehicle damage; Tommo enters the sea to try to stop coaches; RNLI volunteers later branded "traitors" by far-right agitators
9 Sep 2026 Dozens of masked men outside Associated Newspapers (Daily Mail) HQ in London; Tommo livestreams a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the paper house his mother
10 Sep 2026 Searchlight reveals the Daily Mail never published his mother's street or number — Tommo had registered RMT Roofing Specialists Ltd at her address himself
11 Sep 2026 Crowdfunder for "Tommo's Mum" passes £62,000; academic analysis (The Conversation / Nation.Cymru) frames the group as a tactical evolution
12 Sep 2026 Previously advertised Patriot Platform / South Coast Patriots march in Portsmouth city centre; after Hampshire Police say they will arrest people concealing their identity, Tommo issues an "official statement" saying no organiser, representative, affiliate, steward or speaker will attend. First arrest made over the Portsmouth disorder — a 42-year-old Portsmouth man

Responses

  • Nigel Farage (Reform UK) called the tactics "disgusting": "Nobody, at any political protest, whether they're on the left or right, should be wearing balaclavas. It is wrong, it's horrible."
  • Shabana Mahmood (Home Secretary) said police should make "full use" of new powers to ban face coverings at protests; the Home Office condemned "the intimidating and thuggish behaviour" and said protest "must never cross a line into disorder". No 10 condemned "thuggish" far-right activists.
  • Kent Police faced criticism over intelligence failure; the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott was accused of a "word salad" response. The policing minister made a statement to the Commons and forces were told to improve intelligence gathering.
  • Mike Tapp MP (Labour, Dover) called the demonstrators "idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption"; Tony Vaughan MP (Folkestone and Hythe) warned about "significant online coordination" allowing mobilisation "at very short notice and under the radar".
  • HOPE not hate (Joe Mulhall) called it "an alarming development" — "much more vigilante in style, and organised in a more clandestine way" — and published the criminal records of handpicked members.
  • Searchlight: "Is Danny Tommo a threat or a clown? Actually, he's a bit of both."
  • Church of England — the bishop of Kirkstall, Arun Arora, said the cross on protest marches is not the cross of Christ "but rather a fashion accessory utilised by opportunists". Theos research lead Madeleine Pennington described a "step-change" in UK Christian nationalism.
  • Academics — William Allchorn (Anglia Ruskin) argues the significance is less whether Patriot Platform survives than whether its networks, tactics and framing get adopted more widely; Beatriz Lopes Buarque (Manchester) highlights algorithmic amplification of racist conspiracy theories; Darja Wischerath (Bath) notes influencer-style content production and manosphere framing.

Terminology & Narrative Notes

  • "Patriot" is used as a self-designation by the movement and its supporters; this file follows the convention of the existing Politics research corpus by using it as the movement's own term, with "far-right" as the analytical label used by monitors, police and the press.
  • "Masked"/"balaclava" is the key visual signifier, and the focus of police enforcement threats.
  • The movement's self-narrative of discipline and lawfulness is heavily contested; the September 2026 Daily Mail episode (doxxing row that backfired) and the rapid withdrawal of Patriots UK are the main counter-examples cited by monitors.
  • This file is a monitoring profile, not an endorsement of any description given by the group about itself.

Sources

  1. Guardian — "What is Patriot Platform, the far-right group that descended on Dover and Portsmouth?" (Kevin Rawlinson, 7 Sep 2026) — https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/07/patriot-platform-far-right-group-dover-portsmouth
  2. Guardian — "'Army of Christian patriots': how a black-clad vigilante group swarmed Portsmouth" (Daniel Boffey, Steven Morris, Ben Quinn, Diane Taylor, 8 Sep 2026) — https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2026/sep/08/how-a-black-clad-christian-vigilante-group-swarmed-portsmouth
  3. Guardian — "From black-clad agitators to an appeal for 'Tommo's Mum': an unsettling week with the Patriot Platform" (Amelia Gentleman, 12 Sep 2026) — https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/12/from-black-clad-agitators-to-an-appeal-for-tommos-mum-an-unsettling-week-with-the-patriot-platform
  4. Guardian — ministers condemn "thuggish" Portsmouth conduct (7 Sep 2026) — https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/07/ministers-condemn-far-right-activists-portsmouth-asylum-seekers
  5. Searchlight — "Danny Tommo's pound shop Nuremberg with blackshirt 'patriots'" (Daniel Katz, 9 Aug 2026) — https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/08/danny-tommos-pound-shop-nuremberg-with-blackshirt-patriots/
  6. Searchlight — "Patriot Platform: Danny Tommo's latest grift starts to unravel" (11 Aug 2026) — https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/08/patriot-platform-danny-tommos-latest-grift-starts-to-unravel/
  7. Searchlight — "Is Danny Tommo a threat or a clown? Actually, he's a bit of both" (9 Sep 2026) — https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/09/is-danny-tommo-a-threat-or-a-clown-actually-a-bit-of-both/
  8. Searchlight — "Danny Tommo doxxes his own mum and blames the Daily Mail" (10 Sep 2026) — https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/09/danny-tommo-doxxes-his-own-mum-and-blames-the-daily-mail/
  9. HOPE not hate — "Patriot Platform: Danny Tommo's 'handpicked' men convicted of violence against women" (Right Response Team, 13 Aug 2026) — https://hopenothate.org.uk/2026/08/13/patriot-platform-danny-tommos-handpicked-men-convicted-of-violence-against-women/
  10. The New Arab — "Who is funding Britain's far right? Danny Tommo's US, Israel links" (Matthew Hoare, 10 Sep 2026) — https://www.newarab.com/news/who-funding-uks-far-right-danny-tommos-us-israel-links
  11. Nation.Cymru / The Conversation — "What Patriot Platform tells us about how the far right in the UK is changing its tactics" (William Allchorn, 11 Sep 2026) — https://nation.cymru/feature/what-patriot-platform-tells-us-about-how-the-far-right-in-the-uk-is-changing-its-tactics/
  12. CNN — "Dover protests: far-right masked protests" (7 Sep 2026) — https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/07/uk/dover-protests-far-right-masked-intl
  13. Channel 4 News — "What we know about Danny Tommo and Patriot Platform" (Ciaran Jenkins, 7 Sep 2026) — https://www.channel4.com/news/what-we-know-about-danny-tommo-and-patriot-platform-the-group-behind-the-portsmouth-protest
  14. Patriot Platform official site — https://patriotplatform.co.uk/
  15. X/Twitter discourse — @RealDannyTommo and reaction threads (captured via Nitter, 12 Sep 2026)
  16. Facebook discourse — reaction posts and reposted news comment (captured via Phice, 12 Sep 2026)

Notes / Gaps

  • Sign-up figures (30,000 → 40,000 → 45,000) are Tommo's own claims and unverified.
  • The 12 September Portsmouth march outcome is not yet fully reported; the Platform publicly disowned the event after police threatened mask arrests — but other "South Coast Patriots" elements were still expected on the street.
  • The New Arab's MEF funding claim rests on US court filings from a lawsuit MEF lost; treat the $32,000 grant as documented and the misuse allegation as MEF's unproven claim.
  • Monitor the RNLI angle: Patriot Platform-aligned activists branding lifeboat volunteers "traitors" and picketing RNLI stations (Poole, 9 Sep) is a distinct escalation from port protests.
  • Cross-reference: right-wing youtubers/tommy-robinson.md, uk-far-right-social-media-tropes.md, christian-nationalism-uk.md, Riots Protests Demos/right-wing-demos-uk.md.
Back to top