FAR-RIGHT figures have reacted furiously after anti-migrant activist Danny Tommo was denied bail, despite him allegedly slashing a migrant dinghy with a knife.
Daniel Thomas, known to his supporters as Danny Tommo, was remanded in custody on Tuesday as he awaits trial accused of criminal damage to a boat in the English Channel.
The 37-year-old appeared via video-link from HMP Winchester at Portsmouth Crown Court, where Judge James Newton-Price KC rejected an application for bail.
His continued detention prompted an angry response from figures on the far-right, who tried to contrast the decision with the release on police bail of five men arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe described the decision to refuse Thomas bail as a "filthy disgrace".
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson claimed there was "two-tier" treatment within the justice system.
He said: "Danny has now been remanded into custody because he's a danger apparently.
"They want him in prison because it's about sending a political message to the country.
"This is now a political showdown."
He told supporters that the case was now about "exposing them in the court of public opinion" and "not in the court of law".
He added that "an army of citizen journalists" would attend Thomas's future court hearings to challenge the "mainstream narrative".
Thomas was previously convicted of attempted kidnapping in 2016 after pleading guilty to the offence.
The court heard how Thomas, along with two others, burst into a man's home armed with knives and shouted: "You're coming with us."
Sentencing him to two years in prison, the judge described the incident as "deeply frightening", adding that it was "only matched by its stupidity".
Previous convictions can be among the factors considered by courts when deciding whether to grant bail.
Thomas was told to serve his sentence and "for God's sake don't get involved in anything as stupid again".
Right-wing commentator Dan Wootton also referenced the RAF Fairford arrests, describing Thomas's detention as "two-tier justice".
However, the cases being compared by Thomas's supporters are at different stages of the criminal justice process.
The five men near RAF Fairford were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and later on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.
They have not been charged and were released on police bail following interviews and inquiries. Terrorism suspects can be held without charge for up to 14 days under UK law.
Their release on police bail suggests detectives believe it is unlikely they were on the brink of a mass casualty attack by exploding a bomb close to the base, sources told The Guardian.
Counter Terrorism Policing stressed that their release did not mean its investigation had ended and said the men remained subject to "stringent conditions" on their movement and contact with others.
Thomas, by contrast, has already been charged and brought before the courts, where the decision on whether to grant him bail was made by a judge.
During Tuesday's hearing, Judge Newton-Price explicitly rejected suggestions that political considerations played a role in his decision.
He told the court: "I am not concerned with the political issues or motivations in this matter and I put them aside in deciding this matter."
Simon Pentol KC, defending Thomas, had proposed a "package of bail conditions" as an alternative to his client being remanded in custody.
He told the court that if Thomas was granted bail "he would be in no doubt whatsoever" that stepping out of line would leave him liable to breach his conditions.
Pentol added: "He is prepared to put himself in that position to be able to return to his family today."
But Judge Newton-Price declined to grant bail and remanded Thomas in custody.
Thomas is due to appear again by video-link in November, ahead of a provisional trial date of March 1, 2027.
