Most of the hundreds of men clad in sinister balaclavas and black outfits on the Dover anti-migrant protest were anonymous, but one well-built man stood out from the mob.His name is Daniel Thomas, 37, founder of Patriot Platform, who describes his army of protesters as 'working-class men who are bricklayers, roofers and carpenters who build the house you live in, the roads you drive on'.Yet Daniel Thomas's solidly middle-class upbringing appears to be very different from the men he claims to represent.He attended a private school in Hampshire and his father Russell was a university-educated skiing enthusiast who retired to Brittany.Now, Thomas, who despite his respectable roots is a convicted kidnapper and served time in prison, is hailed by some as the heir apparent to his long-time associate on the far-Right, Tommy Robinson, for whom he was once a bodyguard.Whereas Robinson's now-defunct English Defence League was largely about boisterous street protests, Thomas insists that his movement will follow a 'non-violent' path, despite the intimidating tactics of those balaclavas and much talk of 'boots on the ground'.Daniel Thomas, left, dramatically crashed a press conference held by Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf, right, and made clear he wasn't impressed Thomas, who goes by 'Danny Tommo' online, later livestreamed himself in the ocean in Portsmouth after a dinghy carrying 140 migrants arrived on the English coast A man believed to be Thomas is seen arguing with a police officer while standing in the water at Eastney beach on Sunday afternoon More than 500 protestors took to the streets of Eastney in a bid to stop the asylum seekers being transported to an immigration centre Thomas livestreamed much of the protest and, at one point, filmed a bus leaving the coastIt should be noted that the evidence on the streets of Portsmouth on Sunday night at the second protest wasn't in his favour, with police officers injured and vehicles damaged.Father-of-four and roofing company director Thomas, from Portsmouth, has a military background, having served as a tank driver with the King's Royal Hussars.But his Army career was cut short, having been discharged on medical grounds before seeing any active service.Judging from YouTube clips where he is seen rallying his 'troops' and calling (not always successfully) for iron-clad discipline, the man known on social media as 'Danny Tommo' clearly feels his time has come.His mission now is to launch a mass movement of 'men' to make Britain safe from migrants.But who is 'Tommo', and how did he get to a position where he could outfox the police at Britain's major ports not once but twice in as many days?He has said that his violent past brought him to a turning point and forced him to recast himself as a Christian activist. He was jailed for two years in 2016 after bursting into the home of Graham Page in Hayling Island, Hampshire, along with two accomplices.Thomas, who was in May this year a security guard for Tommy Robinson, left, has been hailed as the Unite the Kingdom leader's long-term successorThe three men were armed with knives and shouted 'you're coming with us' before punching the victim, pinning him against a wall and trying to force him from his home.They had wrongly accused Mr Page of stealing £10,000 worth of drugs from them.How Thomas ended up in such company isn't clear, but it's notable that only a year later his father posted a glowing tribute to Daniel's younger brother on his 16th birthday.Russell Thomas wrote on Facebook: '16 years old today... WOW where did the years go! And congrats on becoming trilingual, great job, well done!'Tragically, Russell Thomas took his own life in France in 2022, aged just 60. None of Daniel Thomas's three siblings seem to have followed him down the path of balaclavas and boots.His brother is now an aviation professional for Swissport, working at Edinburgh Airport, while sister is a yoga teacher and osteopath based in Brighton. She runs CPD classes for other yoga trainers and has worked as an instructor on a superyacht.His other sister is an entrepreneur and business consultant who offers advice to start-ups.And last night, Daniel's mother, who lives in a neat terraced house, appeared to distance herself from her son's recent activities.The mother-of-four said: 'He doesn't live here. This is my house. I don't want anyone coming round here. I have nothing to do with it.' Thomas' father Russell, left, tragically took his own life in 2022 in FranceAsked if she supported his actions, she said she was 'just a lady' and didn't 'want any aggravation'.Daniel and his partner appear to frequently holiday to Tenerife, staying in a luxury hotel last month.His roofing company claims to be 'rooted in faith' and provide roof installations which reflect 'our integrity and strong Christian values'.After his release from prison, Thomas came up with his pseudonym Danny Tommo and organised marches throughout the country calling for Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to be freed from a sentence for contempt of court.Then in 2018 he was involved with organising a United Kingdom Independence Party 'Brexit Betrayal' rally at which Robinson spoke.