Columnist Carole Malone has condemned the lockdown of Gosport in Hampshire following migrant landings, describing the dispersal order imposed on the town as "state-sponsored thuggery" and comparing the measures to those seen in a dictatorship.
Writing in the Daily Express, Malone said it was neither right nor fair that residents of the quiet coastal town had to stay locked in their homes under a "draconian state order" to facilitate the safe passage of 150 migrant men, who she said had broken into the country illegally, to taxpayer-funded processing centres.
Protest restrictions and police checkpoints
Residents were told by Hampshire Police that they could not protest in the streets and were confined to a single car park, described as a "protest pen." They were also warned they would be arrested if they refused to leave the protest when asked, and that they could not wear face coverings. Failure to comply with police instructions could result in spending the night, or longer, in a cell.
Police also set up checkpoints, asking drivers and pedestrians where they were going and what they were doing, Malone reported. The Section 34 dispersal order was imposed this week after 350 residents exercised their legal right to protest following a third attempted illegal migrant landing in a month.
Protest largely peaceful
Malone said the protest was largely peaceful, with 12 people arrested and one assault on a police officer. She noted that protest is legal in Britain, pointing to recent Palestinian protests that took over the capital, inciting violence and costing millions in police time.
She argued that the government is trying to stop people protesting about the boats instead of stopping the boats themselves, and that it is criminalising and demonising those who protest about illegal immigration. Malone said the government has lost control of the borders, as Shabana Mahmood admitted this week.
Resources and rights
Malone highlighted the vast motorcade of police cars, buses, ambulances and vans that descended on Gosport to ensure the 150 illegal migrants reached their processing centres, while people in this country die on the streets because an ambulance cannot get to them on time, and cops do not come to houses when burgled or attacked due to scarce resources.
She said the majority at the protests were working people and families worried about the safety of their children, particularly in light of reports about illegal migrant sex offenders. Malone said these protesters are being demonised as violent, Far Right thugs when they are angry, frustrated and frightened people consumed by a sense of injustice.
Malone also criticised the government for handing out leaflets to illegal migrants telling them they must not rape women, verbally abuse or hurt homosexuals, or mutilate women's genitals, questioning why people who need such instructions should be welcomed. She said the government prioritises the needs of illegal migrants over British people, giving them houses and healthcare that Brits do not get.
Right to protest denied
The people of Gosport have every right to protest that their town is being used as a new landing site for smugglers, Malone wrote, yet their right to protest is denied and they are threatened with jail. She said this is what happens in juntas and dictatorships, and should not be happening in Britain.
Malone concluded that people are no longer buying the argument that those coming are helpless refugees fleeing war and persecution, saying it is clear they are "a load of chancers and criminals" who know soft-touch Britain will swallow their lies and give them a fabulous life paid for by British taxpayers.
