Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, was remanded ahead of a March 2027 trial on criminal-damage and phone-PIN counts.

A not-guilty plea, a bail denial, and a provisional trial date are process. They are not a conviction. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, appeared by videolink at Portsmouth Crown Court. He has pleaded not guilty to criminal damage over an alleged Sept. 22 Channel boat incident and to failing to disclose his phone PIN under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Judge James Newton-Price KC refused bail and set a provisional trial for March 1, 2027, with a further hearing Nov. 12, 2026.

Daily Mail and The Independent reported that prosecutors outline an allegation that Thomas steered toward an empty rib in the English Channel while rescue crews assisted a migrant boat, armed himself with a knife, and damaged the vessel while an emergency responder was aboard. Those are the prosecution’s charging narrative. They are not findings. Defense counsel called the allegation politically charged and proposed bail conditions so Thomas could return to his family. The judge said he was not deciding political issues and remanded Thomas in custody.

Coverage also noted a prior Magistrates’ Court appearance last Friday and that the cost of alleged damage was still unsettled because the boat returned to France. Maximum exposure depends on whether damage is valued above or below £5,000 under Sentencing Council guidance cited in reporting. Exposure figures on a charging paper are not a sentence. The March 2027 listing and November directions hearing are calendar steps only. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.