HOPE not hate exposes the violent men “handpicked” by Danny Tommo for his new ‘Patriot Platform’. Despite being subject to “rigorous checks” and prioritising “quality over quantity”, several members of the new group have criminal histories, including violence against women.
The Patriot Platform is a network of men founded by Tommy Robinson’s right hand man Daniel Thomas (AKA Danny Tommo). While its purpose remains vague, even to its followers, Thomas promises it exists to “do what needs to be done” in response to a perceived threat from migrants.
Launched in June and holding its first meeting on 19 July at Black Dam and Crabtree Nature Reserve, Basingstoke, the project has united activists from numerous pre-existing anti-migrant groups. Aiming to build a network of representatives across the country, current members hail from the Thanet Patriots, Watford Patriots, South London Patriots, South-East Patriots, North-West Patriots, Surrey Patriots and Chertsey Patriots.
The group is a self-professed Christian “army of patriots” formed to “reclaim our borders, restore order and send a clear message: Britain belongs to the British”. In theory, the group will function as a vigilante unit to combat immigration and revive Christian values, ready to spring into action across the country at Thomas’ word. So far, it has only amounted to uniting disparate anti-migrant groups for a series of photoshoots.
In a recent clip, Thomas said that for his new team he wants “discipline” rather than “the drinkers” or “the violence”. He claimed that they don’t want to be considered a “thuggy outfit” and that he has chosen “businessmen” to make up the inner circle of the team.
This is perhaps ironic considering Thomas’ own track record. As Lennon’s former bodyguard and now close aide, Thomas has been prominent on the British far-right scene for almost a decade. He previously spent time in prison for his part in a botched kidnapping attempt over a drug dispute, and has built a resume of bans across Dover, Ramsgate, Folkestone and the entire country of France due to his activism.
It is perhaps unsurprising then that his new black-clad vigilante team are far from disciplined. HOPE not hate can exclusively reveal that many hold violent criminal records, or have previously accompanied Thomas in his illegal trips overseas.
Thomas’ continuing disregard for the law was evident when, earlier in the year, he and Raise the Colours’ Ryan Bridge took several trips to Northern France, where they harassed charity workers assisting asylum seekers. Their actions earned them a ban from the country.
While that was enough to dissuade Bridge, who now focuses on domestic activism, Thomas took the ban as a challenge and went forward with ‘Operation Overlord’. On 24 January, Thomas and a small group of men went to the coast of Calais, defying the ban. Several of Thomas’ Operation Overlord Team have now joined Patriotic Platform, including the South London Patriots’ Luke Jackson, Billy Cooper and Sid.
He continued to visit France as a part of his vigilante activism, entering via Belgium to avoid border force between England and France. Eventually, he was arrested by counter terror police. Admitting defeat on an international level, Thomas then turned his attention towards the domestic sphere and started Patriotic Platform.
Kevin Jones appeared at the very first meeting of the Patriot Platform, part of the batch of men “handpicked” by Thomas to represent their area. In 2018, the Thanet Patriots member pled guilty to dangerous driving, two counts of wounding and two counts of assault committed during a drug-fuelled frenzy.
According to KentOnline, the Prosecutor told Canterbury Crown Court that Jones had drunk heavily on Boxing day and taken cocaine. In the early hours of the next morning, an argument broke out after he demanded his partner have sex with him and she refused.
When his partner’s mother was called, he leapt from the bedroom window, before forcing his way back into the house. He grabbed a bread knife from the kitchen and began trying to stab himself, slashing his partner and her mother’s arms when they attempted to disarm him. There were children upstairs in the house at the time.
Jones then ran from the house, got into his fathers car and crashed it into his partner’s home, narrowly missing pedestrians. The investigating officer claimed that Jones endangered many people’s lives during his rampage, and punched a paramedic in the face who was attempting to help him. Jones was 29 at the time, and was jailed for three years and four months.
Also amongst the “handpicked” first batch is another leading member of the Thanet Patriots, Adrian Clark. At a protest on 8 August in Westwood, Thanet, Clark confessed to doing “bad shit in [his] past which [he’s] not proud of”.
He goes on to say “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?”.
He used the same speech to promote Patriot Platform, asking crowdmembers to join, as well speaking at length about the Kalergi plan, a far-right conspiracy theory that there is a plan to wipe out the white race.
Clark also boasts a violent criminal record, having received a suspended sentence after admitting to causing actual bodily harm in 2018. After a co-worker on a building site told him not to “be a dick”, Clark got out of his van and punched the man several times in the face. KentLive’s report on the case revealed that Clark had prior convictions for common assault and assaulting a police officer.
Clark and Jones are not the only members with violent convictions. Alby Brannan attended the second meeting of Patriot Platform’s “vetted” members. In 2024, Brannan pled guilty to violent disorder after throwing fireworks at the Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, which houses asylum seekers. He had been part of a riot outside where protesters hurled objects at the building and chanted racist abuse.
Brannan, Jones and Clark’s inclusion in the group is ironic considering a recent video from Thomas which claimed that “there will be rigorous checks to make sure you are who you say you are” and that he would “rather stand with 1000 good men than 10,000 idiots”. Thomas’ definition of “good men” clearly stretches to those with convictions for violence against women.
Thomas has depicted the Patriot Platform as a network of men devoted to protecting British women and children. However, the vigilante group has attracted men with proven histories of violence, who have been welcomed with open arms by Thomas. Time and time again, the far right use women’s safety issues as a selling point for their ideology while platforming the very men who enact such violence.
The question is whether Thomas’ vetting process has proved completely inadequate, or whether he knew about these men’s crimes and simply doesn’t care. Given his own track record, there is every reason to suspect he does not see violence and criminality as disqualifying traits.
Either way, Patriot Platform appears to be the latest example of far-right activists claiming to defend women and girls while turning a blind eye to the behaviour of their own members. This is yet further proof that these groups are not motivated by a desire to protect women but by a desire to attack migrants.
Prefer to listen? Click the play button to hear the audio version. Harry Shukman Reform UK is staffed by oddballs and enigmas, but none odder…
