Masked men, lorries and road blocks: How anti-migrant activists are changing tactics

Last Saturday morning, around seven o'clock, a group of men dressed in black arrived in a quiet Kent village called Preston-next-Wingham. They had traveled under the cover of darkness the previous night, leaving their cars scattered in various locations within the village. These men embarked on a well-planned journey to Dover just after sunrise, where they staged a striking display of strength near the port.

Wearing paramilitary-style balaclavas, they blocked roads around the port, standing ominously before motorists and police officers. This was a new tactic employed by hardened anti-immigration campaigners. On Sunday, the main organizer, Danny Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, organized a more impromptu protest in Portsmouth. His activists attempted to block coaches carrying migrants who had arrived illegally from France.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged police to enforce stricter measures against such activists, who wear face coverings, stating that these scenes cause disruption and create a fear factor for residents. Patriot Platform, the group behind these tactics, seems to have borrowed ideas from environmental groups like Just Stop Oil and is also drawing inspiration from the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States.

The group's leaders aim to build a working-class voting bloc to persuade right-wing political parties to adopt their agenda. Thomas posted about the group on YouTube in June and has been staging meetings across the country, emphasizing the need for a different approach to activism that is more powerful than committing acts of violence and criminal damage.

The protesters in Dover were predominantly male and organized in well-coordinated waves of lorries. They avoided engaging with the media and public, marching off to Dover Priory Station after a few hours. Thomas had previously expressed his intention to create a patriotic army capable of taking control in the UK.