Hundreds of anti-migration protesters gathered in Portsmouth on Sunday night after a small boat carrying around 140 migrants was intercepted and its occupants brought ashore in the Hampshire city.
Demonstrators blocked roads near Eastney Marina and became involved in a prolonged standoff with police as authorities prepared to transport those who had arrived to an immigration processing centre outside Hampshire.
The Government condemned what it described as “intimidating and thuggish behaviour”, while Hampshire Police imposed a dispersal order and warned that anyone refusing a direction to leave the area could be arrested.
Hundreds gather near Eastney Marina
The demonstration began after emergency services responded to a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast on Sunday, 6 September.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said HM Coastguard deployed lifeboats, a helicopter, an aeroplane and Coastguard Rescue Teams, with Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and South Central Ambulance Service also responding.
Those aboard were brought ashore in Portsmouth, where coaches were waiting to take them elsewhere for processing.
Hundreds of protesters subsequently gathered around the Eastney area, with demonstrators blocking traffic on roads leading away from the marina.
Police carrying shields formed lines around the area as the standoff continued into the night.
Police impose dispersal order
Hampshire Police said officers were deployed to prevent disorder and urged members of the public to avoid the area.
A dispersal order was introduced, giving officers powers to direct people to leave.
The force warned that anyone refusing to comply with such a direction could be liable for arrest.
Police also said Border Force had advised that those brought ashore would be transported outside Hampshire for processing in the normal way.
Government condemns ‘thuggish behaviour’
The Government strongly criticised the scenes in Portsmouth.
A Government spokesperson said: “We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we are seeing tonight.”
The spokesperson added that the right to peaceful protest was fundamental to democracy but said it must not cross the line into disorder, while thanking emergency services involved in managing the situation.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds later said she supported the right to peaceful protest but believed events in Portsmouth had “crossed the line”.
Boat believed to have carried around 140 people
The protest followed an unusually long small-boat journey from western Normandy.
French maritime authorities said an inflatable vessel carrying approximately 140 migrants was reported overnight west of the Bay of the Seine before continuing towards the United Kingdom.
The French authorities described a migrant boat departing from that area as unusual.
The vessel was subsequently met by RNLI lifeboats in the Channel and those aboard were brought into Portsmouth.
The figure of around 140 remains provisional pending publication of the Home Office's consolidated arrival figures.
Concern over possible shift in Channel routes
The unusually western crossing has also prompted questions about whether people-smuggling networks are experimenting with different departure points.
Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East Joe Robertson said he would contact the Home Office and called for answers over whether new routes were being used for larger migrant boats.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones also warned about the possibility of changing patterns in Channel crossings and said Portsmouth did not have the same infrastructure for migrant arrivals as areas around Dover.
There is not yet sufficient evidence to conclude that smugglers have permanently shifted routes, but the Normandy departure is significant because the Government had already identified western French launches as an emerging problem.
Government recently announced western France surge teams
Just days before the Portsmouth arrival, Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Government announced that an additional 45 French officers would be deployed to western beaches to tackle launches from further along the French coast and the use of so-called “mega dinghies”.
The announcement came ahead of Burnham's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street.
The Government said more than 48,000 attempted crossings had been prevented and more than 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election, while maintaining that overall small-boat arrivals were down this year.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood nevertheless acknowledged that ministers could not be complacent, warning that smuggling gangs continued to adapt their tactics.
Second major protest of the weekend
The Portsmouth demonstration followed disruption in Dover on Saturday, where anti-migration protesters blocked road access to the port.
The latest scenes add another political dimension to the small-boats debate, with ministers facing pressure both over the continuing crossings and the public-order challenges surrounding protests against illegal migration.
Authorities ultimately said those brought ashore in Portsmouth would be moved outside Hampshire for processing through the normal immigration system.