Six people were arrested in Gosport, Hampshire, after anti-migrant protesters clashed with emergency services overnight. The demonstration formed around Haslar Marina amid rumours that a small boat carrying migrants was due to land in the area on Sunday evening (October 4).
While the protest was largely peaceful, footage shared online appeared to show fences being erected in front of emergency vehicles and officers facing abuse.
Migrants brought to south coast
The Home Office has confirmed that up to 149 migrants arrived in the UK after their dinghy was followed by French rescue vessels from Normandy. The boat was brought in by two RNLI vessels to the south coast.
A government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border. We have established contingency plans to make sure we can securely disembark, check and process all small boat arrivals.”
Processing in Kent
Four coaches were spotted taking the migrants away from Portsmouth Harbour. The Home Office has confirmed they will be processed in Kent. The spokesperson added: “Migrants will be transported to short term holding facilities in Kent where they will be processed as normal and undergo stringent health, security and biometric checks.”
The town’s MP, Conservative Caroline Dinenage, said earlier she had ‘no reply or meaningful information’ on how the Home Office planned to deal with the arrivals. She said in a statement: “Gosport is not a safe or suitable location to disembark small boats. Our transport network is extremely constrained, we have no acute hospital, and our emergency services are already under pressure.
“I contacted the Home Office Minister directly at around 1pm today and, incredibly, I have still had no reply or meaningful information about where this boat is going.”
Dispersal order in place
Sunday’s demonstration came as Hampshire Police implemented a dispersal order around the marina, and a ban on face coverings across Gosport. Last month, a similar protest took place when British rescue boats collected the passengers of a migrant dinghy which had spent around 30 hours at sea after setting off from Normandy.
The 51 migrants, who refused help from the French coastguard, arrived in Dover after being transferred to Border Security Command boats. It was expected the migrants would be taken to Gosport, with hundreds of protesters gathering after coaches and ambulances were spotted in the area.
The provisional total for Channel crossings this year is 19,451. This is down 43 percent on this time last year and 23 percent below the figure at this stage in 2024.
