Portsmouth Protest Follows Dover Port Blockade

Hundreds of anti-asylum-seeker protesters gathered in Portsmouth after about 140 migrants rescued from a Channel dinghy were brought ashore, blocking roads and attempting to prevent their transfer to a processing centre in Kent. Some demonstrators were reportedly linked to far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s network; they chanted “Stop the boats” and clashed with riot police, who escorted the migrants away. The protest followed a separate blockade at Dover less than 48 hours earlier, when masked demonstrators blocked roads around the port, causing about four miles of congestion and disrupting passengers, freight and ferry services before dispersing without arrests. The events prompted questions about authorities’ preparedness for rapidly organized demonstrations, while the government condemned the Portsmouth gathering as intimidating and “thuggish” and said peaceful protest must not become disorder. The Portsmouth arrival was unusual because it occurred farther west than Kent, the normal landing area for small boats; ministers said about 17,000 people had crossed the Channel to Britain between January and September 1, down 43% from the same period the previous year.