A migrant dinghy travelling towards Britain after leaving the Normandy coast has been shadowed by a French coastguard vessel, while an anti-migration activist livestreamed his pursuit of the boat across the Channel.
The vessel departed near Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux, on Monday morning and subsequently picked up passengers along the Côte Fleurie, according to reports. It has since spent more than 24 hours at sea and was approaching the Channel boundary, according to ship-tracking data.
Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo and founder of the Patriot Platform group, said on social media that he was heading into the Channel to locate the dinghy. Footage posted online showed him following the vessel in a speedboat.
French rescue officials said the boat appeared to be in poor condition, travelling with a single small outboard motor. The French authorities chose to escort rather than intervene, with sea and weather conditions described as favourable.
Two RNLI lifeboats were also tasked by HM Coastguard to an incident involving the vessel, according to the charity.
Starlink is turned on and live is back in action. @RealDannyTommo and crew have eyes on.https://t.co/dOw8S5NeU8 pic.twitter.com/9GW12ga4Fc
— Anth 🇬🇧 (@AnthNFS) September 22, 2026
The episode comes as authorities face scrutiny over Channel surveillance after a separate dinghy reached Folkestone on Monday without being intercepted. Five people were detained and transferred to Border Security Command, marking the first officially recorded uncontrolled landing on the UK coast since September 2025. The Home Office has launched an investigation.
Defence minister Luke Pollard told LBC that “our borders are secure”, while acknowledging that the circumstances surrounding the Folkestone landing were being investigated.
Official Home Office figures show 17,480 people had arrived in Britain by small boat so far in 2026 as of September 21, according to figures reported by LBC.
The latest government data shows small-boat arrivals remain substantially below the previous year over comparable periods, although the figures are provisional and subject to revision.
The Normandy departures are attracting particular attention because they involve substantially longer crossings than the traditional routes from northern France, potentially increasing the demands on French and British maritime authorities.
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