Police Condemn Xenophobic Protest Targeting Migrants at Portsmouth Port
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British officials strongly denounced a masked, far-right protest in Portsmouth that sought to block desperate migrants from seeking safety, emphasizing that hate-fueled illegal actions will be prosecuted.
Police in southern England reported that a group of masked, anti-immigrant demonstrators assembled at a Portsmouth port on Sunday in an attempt to prevent lifeboats from bringing vulnerable migrants ashore after their perilous journey across the English Channel. The protesters, motivated by xenophobic sentiment, also tried to block buses transporting the new arrivals to an asylum-seeker processing centre, leading to a police investigation into assaults on officers and damage to official vehicles.
'Disorder of any kind will never be tolerated and those who cross the line from peaceful protest into illegality will face the full force of the law,' said policing minister Sarah Jones, reaffirming the government’s commitment to protecting the rights and safety of migrants.
This incident followed a similar blockade in Dover the previous day, where masked anti-immigration activists, emboldened by far-right rhetoric, disrupted traffic to the ferry terminal. Both actions were reportedly coordinated by Daniel Thomas, an associate of notorious far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.
The boat that arrived in Portsmouth had departed from Normandy, a longer and more dangerous route than the usual crossings near Calais, and carried roughly 120 migrants, according to a statement to Parliament. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed that lifeboats, a coastguard helicopter, and a plane were mobilized in the rescue operation, highlighting the urgency and humanitarian need. Home Office data showed that eight vessels brought a total of 625 migrants to the United Kingdom on Sunday, underscoring the ongoing crisis and the need for compassion and solidarity.