Black-clad Christian vigilantes labeled ‘army of patriots’ swarm Portsmouth

Days ago, Daniel 'Tommo' Thomas told far-right sympathisers in north-west England: 'Groups of men all across the United Kingdom are joining up as one, as one group of resistance', said the convicted kidnapper and former bodyguard to Tommy Robinson. In a YouTube video last week he warned: 'Something is about to go down and it is about to send a fucking shock wave. What is the end goal? It is to start something that will then snowball.'

The prophesied event Saturday morning in Dover saw hundreds of masked men in black occupy key roundabouts at 7am, causing a 4-mile queue on the A20 closed in both directions. The uniformed gathering evoked Oswald Mosley's 1930s British Union of Fascists' black shirts, drawing national attention.

The ripple effect reached Portsmouth Sunday, where Thomas's Patriot Platform joined a protest against a mega-dinghy of asylum seekers in the Solent, pushing it to block the 120 migrants held at Eastney marina. The goal, Thomas said, was not to 'wave flags … thinking somehow that it was going to save us', but to stop those who had landed from moving on.

At 2am, Thomas livestreamed to about 15,000 viewers as his group faced riot police. He announced he had taken the collar number of every officer, telling them: 'The ICP ... IPCC will be contacted by our lawyers', and 'if you do anything apart from what your inspector told you to do … the IPCC will deal with you.' A follower corrected: 'It's IOPC, mate – the Independent Office for Police Conduct.' Thomas insisted: 'No, it's IPCC – International … Independent Police Complaints Commission.' He later groaned: 'Oh no – who's got my fucking keys,' before ending the stream at around 4am with: 'If there were 10,000 lads here it would be different. There's about 200 lads, not even that. I'm done.'

Despite the farce, the events suggest those behind the latest anti-migrant unrest are 'starting to do things differently' and want people to know it. Also Saturday, Anthony Barnes (AY Audits/The Hotel Inspector), with 134,000 YouTube subscribers, provided rolling footage from Dover seafront, panting: 'Something is happening. I've got a funny feeling we are about to see the first resistance of the Patriot Platform.' He contended they were 'making history'.

Thomas, a former King's Royal Hussars tank driver medically discharged before active service and regular Speakers' Corner speaker, has spent months building Patriot Platform, travelling the country to unite disparate far-right groups. His modus operandi – coordinated flashmobs, dress and conduct discipline – borrows from the anarchist left and Extinction Rebellion.

He told his black-shirted followers he had the best lawyers, citing Tommy Robinson's assurance every man has 'the very best representation possible'. Defending his group's right to assemble, he referenced articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act. Participants were told not to film or photograph, a tactic used by far-right agitators in Belfast during recent riots. Communications are tightly controlled: 'They are operating in a cell-like structure, where regional organisers are putting together the groups,' said far-right researcher Joe Mulhall of Hope Not Hate. 'It's almost like a spiderweb … then ostensibly with a network above it … almost like the way football hooligans have operated. Thomas is the leader of the firm and then sends messages off to each group.' Mulhall noted a religious tint: 'Patriot Platform 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 people'. The group functions as a vigilante unit to combat immigration and revive what it says are Christian values, ready to spring into action at Thomas's word. In Portsmouth, followers chanted: 'Christ is king'.

The government condemned the 'thuggish and intimidating behaviour' in Dover and Portsmouth, said chief secretary Emma Reynolds. Police and coastguard vehicles were damaged, a small number of officers injured by flying objects, but no arrests were made. The crowd left the marina only after a dispersal order. Sue Dewey of Eastney Cruising Association said staff were trapped and had to sleep on sofas, adding: 'I did get the smell of wacky baccy floating up to my balcony. This is the closest I've been to an insurrection. I'm unhappy. These people are here illegally and the French are enabling them. This should make Andy Burnham wake up.' Mark Calcut, walking his dog nearby, dismissed the thuggery label: 'I know people who attended – they were just ordinary people trying to stop that boat coming in here.'

On Monday, Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf visited Portsmouth and met Thomas, who told him Reform should not criticise followers for wearing balaclavas: 'What do you expect the men of this country to do when they see violence against women, sexual assaults, what would you do as a man … just wait?' Thomas insisted masks were lawful, instructed no drugs, drink, shouting or violence, and said children were shaking hands with them at the Dover protest. Yusuf said: 'I think it's important we listen to people. He was making his points respectfully. It was a respectful conversation.' He would take the message to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.