Hundreds of protesters gather in Portsmouth after small boat arrival - as 'thuggish' behaviour condemned

Protesters have clashed with police after hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Portsmouth following the arrival of a small boat carrying migrants.

They blocked roads for hours and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant protest in two days.

The government condemned the "thuggish" behaviour at the protest, with Sky correspondent Barnaby Papadopoulos saying protesters threw items at police.

A "substantial crowd" of demonstrators gathered, with chants of "stop the boats" and "send them back" heard, Papadopoulos added.

A police dispersal order was in place, with many of those at Portsmouth dressed in all black and wearing face masks.

It comes after a dinghy, reported to be carrying some 140 migrants, was intercepted in the English Channel on Sunday.

It left the Jobourg region of Normandy in France and is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat - landings as far west as Hampshire are rare.

It was met in the Channel by two RNLI boats who took the migrants to Portsmouth.

From there, the migrants were expected to be taken to a processing centre in Manston.

But the hundreds of protesters in Portsmouth on Sunday evening said they were determined to prevent authorities from transporting the migrants in coaches to the processing centre.

In a livestream at the scene, Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo - an associate of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson - said: "Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here."

He added: "It was only yesterday [at the protests in Dover] when we warned them that we will not accept this any more, and that this is no longer an option to tell us that the boat numbers are down.

"This isn't about the numbers being down… this is about understanding that this has to come to an end now."

'Thuggish behaviour'

Hampshire Police said in a statement on Sunday night a dispersal order was in place until Monday evening and officers were "in the area to ensure the prevention of disorder".

Anyone who refuses to comply with the direction is "liable for arrest", the force added.

A government spokesperson said: "We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we are seeing tonight.

"The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder.

"We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation."

Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, posted: "Extremely concerning to see an illegal migrant crossing this far west.

"We don't know if this migrant boat was headed for the Isle of Wight but I'll be contacting the Home Office first thing. We need to know exactly what happened and if new routes are being used for mega-dinghies by people smugglers."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said on Mornings with Ridge and Frost she supports the right to peaceful protests, "but this has crossed the line".

She thanked the police and other emergency services for "bringing this situation under control" and said the people to blame are the "thugs themselves".

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It comes a day after anti-illegal migrant protests blocked the Port of Dover.

Hundreds of masked, black-clad men blocked road access to the Kent port.

Videos showed demonstrators marching through the town and chanting "Stop the boats" as dozens of police officers followed.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News' Sunday Morning programme that peaceful protest is not "dressing up in costumes" and "disrupting people's lives".

He declined to comment "on the security and policing side of it" when pressed on the apparent unpreparedness of Kent Police, who described the protest as "spontaneous" in a statement on X.

On the same programme, Reform UK's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick also condemned the disruption, while saying he understood the frustration with small boats crossing the Channel carrying migrants.

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