Clashes between protesters and riot police in Portsmouth following the arrival of a small boat carrying migrants have been branded "thuggish and intimidating" by a senior government minister. Hundreds of demonstrators confronted police near the port area after around 140 people in a single dinghy were rescued in the English Channel.
Minister condemns 'thuggish and intimidating' behaviour
Treasury Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds condemned the scenes, telling LBC Radio: "This is thuggish and intimidating behaviour. This is not peaceful protest." She added: "Obviously, as a politician, I absolutely support people's right to peaceful protest. But this crosses a line and I just want to take the opportunity to thank the police and other emergency services who have brought this under control. We do not want to see this kind of behaviour anywhere, frankly."
The demonstrators blocked roads near the port, preventing the occupants of the boat from leaving the city. The migrants were brought to shore by two RNLI lifeboats after calling for help, according to the French coastguard. It is understood they will be processed as is routine for arrivals.
Protesters block roads and clash with police
Videos on social media showed groups of people being taken to shore on lifeboats and escorted to parked coaches. Crowds of an estimated 500 protesters gathered, led by Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, an associate of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.
In a livestream filmed while standing in the sea at Eastney beach, Mr Thomas said: "Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here." He added: "It was only yesterday (at the protests in Dover) when we warned them that we will not accept this any more, and that this is no longer an option to tell us that the boat numbers are down. This isn't about the numbers being down… this is about understanding that this has to come to an end now."
At around 3am police issued a Section 14 order and the protestors dispersed from the dock after blocking roads for hours. Videos shared online show riot police armed with protective shields clashing with the protestors.
Concerns over new migrant routes
Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones warned that places such as Portsmouth are "not set up" for the arrival of migrants. She told the BBC's Today programme it will be a significant issue for the Government if people traffickers shift their destinations across England's south coast.
She said: "We have hundreds of miles of coastline across southern England and if Dover is no longer the destination of choice, and instead there is going to be a spread across southern England, this is a significant issue for the Government. My concern now, as a police and crime commissioner, is that we don't have this repeated."
The protest came the day after a 'stop the boats' migrant protest at the Port of Dover on Saturday, where around 300 people, dressed head-to-toe in black, blocked a key road while chanting "stop the boats" and "whose streets? our streets". Ferry passenger Toby Mackenzie said he was left fearing for his life when his car was surrounded.
Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, posted: "Extremely concerning to see an illegal migrant crossing this far west. We don't know if this migrant boat was headed for the Isle of Wight but I'll be contacting the Home Office first thing. We need to know exactly what happened and if new routes are being used for mega-dinghies by people smugglers."
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: "In response to a report on September 6 of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, HM Coastguard sent lifeboats, an HM Coastguard helicopter, an HM Coastguard aeroplane and HM Coastguard Rescue Teams. Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and South Central Ambulance Service were also sent."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "This Government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election. We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020. But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches."
