Right-Wing Radicals Orchestrated 'Operation Overlord' Targeting Migrants According to New Report

In a stark escalation of the UK's Channel migrant crisis, far-right vigilantes linked to Tommy Robinson have reportedly devised 'Operation Overlord' — a plan to sabotage small boats on French beaches. The development comes amid a record 42,000 crossings in 2025 and an estimated £5.4 billion in taxpayer costs for asylum accommodation.

Anti-migrant demonstrations have intensified, with Raise the Colours activists — hailed as heroes by supporters — filming confrontations in Paris and Gravelines. Their actions are fuelling renewed debate over illegal immigration, border security and the government's response to the ongoing crisis.

Raise the Colours: From Flags to French Coast Vigilantism

On 17 November 2025, Daniel Thomas (aka 'Tommo'), Ryan Bridge, and Elliott Stanley—core members of Raise the Colours—were overheard in a fish and chip pub plotting 'Operation Overlord', a codename evoking the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion.

The trio, near their homes, discussed recruiting an army of men via football hooligan firms for shifts across the Channel, acquiring a 'decent boat' for £35,000 ($53,695), and drones for visibility, while evading police with diversions like 'the police will be looking in that direction, and then it'll be, "boom" and we'll be off'.

A concerned pub-goer alerted The i Paper after recognising the men from prior coverage of their boat-slashing videos on French dunes. This follows three November 2025 trips to Gravelines, where Bridge chased migrants boarding dinghies, shouting about 'hundreds of thousands of undocumented men' committing crimes and 'replacing the indigenous white population.'

In Paris, they harassed black homeless men, querying if one was from Africa. Raise the Colours, which festooned UK streets with Union flags in autumn 2025, appeals for funds and volunteers, stating 'our country is doing nothing... '

Channel Crossings Surge: Fuel for Far-Right Border Control Demands

Home Office data reveals Channel crossings hit approximately 42,667 by 30 June 2025—a 16% rise from the same period in 2024—surpassing prior mid-year records, with 898 arrivals in 13 boats on 30 July alone, totalling 25,436 by then. By 14 November, cumulative small boat arrivals since 2018 reached 190,430. Asylum seekers in hotels climbed 13% to 36,273 by end-September 2025, up from 32,041 in June and 35,628 in September 2024, though below 2023's 56,000 peak.

This burdened taxpayers with £3 billion ($3.97 billion) in 2023/24 for asylum-seeker hotel accommodation — an average of £8 million ($10.6 million) daily — with costs remaining close to £8 million ($10.6 million) per day in January 2025 before significant hotel closures began.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood deems the situation 'out of control and unfair', unveiling reforms for order and control. Yet, Reform UK's Nigel Farage and UKIP push mass deportations, inspiring protests; a 15 April 2025 Portsmouth rally demanded removals. Dunkirk prosecutors probe 'aggravated violence' against migrants by British far-right suspects since September, including flag-waving attacks.

Elon Musk warned crowds on 27 September of 'violence... you either fight back or you die' amid 'uncontrolled migration'. X user @stikiwikit hailed the vigilantes as 'HEROES' on 28 November, linking the i Paper article.

Vigilantism's Legal Perils: Arrests and Government Crackdown

Vigilante actions risk severe repercussions under UK law, with over 180 arrests in 2025 anti-immigration protests injuring 41 officers. Raise the Colours disavows violence, stating 'we do not encourage... anyone travelling to France... RTC does not support vigilante behaviour'.

Yet, Bridge and Thomas insist 'what we're doing is right, and it's on the right side of history', opposing taxpayer funds for asylum. French authorities handle cross-Channel incidents, probing Raise the Colours for complaints.

In the UK, public order laws enable interventions for disorder; Epping's far-right Homeland party protests saw preemptive riot police arrests, sparking double-standard claims against lenient counter-protester treatment.