Portsmouth RNLI station shuts after protest threats as mask ban arrests follow

Anti-migrant protests that began in Dover and spread to Portsmouth have now led to a second weekend of demonstrations, arrests under new face-covering powers, and the temporary closure of Portsmouth's RNLI lifeboat station after volunteers faced abuse.

Hundreds of masked demonstrators, many in black and balaclavas, blocked roads around the Port of Dover on the Saturday of the first weekend. They chanted stop the boats and brought traffic on the A20 and M20 to a standstill. The Port of Dover described a public order incident affecting all routes in and out. Kent Police said officers engaged with protesters. No arrests were made. The protest dispersed by lunchtime when police escorted demonstrators to Dover Priory railway station.

The action appeared to take authorities by surprise. Police described it as spontaneous, but it was highly organised. Men arrived in pre-arranged groups. The event was promoted by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and anti-hate group Hope Not Hate said it was arranged by the Patriot Platform. The group was set up in July by Danny Thomas, also known as Danny Tomo. He has a previous conviction for attempted kidnap and has been linked to Tommy Robinson. He called for mass resistance to immigration but said he did not want violence.

On the Sunday, attention moved to Portsmouth. A single dinghy carrying about 140 migrants was rescued in the Channel after setting off from the western side of the Bay of the Seine, much further west than the usual Calais route. The journey was roughly 170 miles from Calais and significantly longer and more dangerous. Two RNLI lifeboats brought the migrants ashore near Portsmouth. The Home Office later said 625 migrants on eight boats were brought ashore in Dover and Portsmouth that day.

Hundreds of protesters gathered near the landing stage and tried to stop coaches taking the migrants to the Manston processing centre in Kent. Police in riot gear faced off with demonstrators. Some officers were injured and vehicles were damaged, including a Home Office truck and police cars. A dispersal order was issued in the early hours and the crowd left. There were no arrests at that stage. The government condemned what it called intimidating and thuggish behaviour. Hampshire's police and crime commissioner described the events as a wake-up call and said many people were frustrated by weak border controls.

The protests came as the government continued to argue that small boat crossings are falling. It said crossings were down by more than 40 per cent compared with the same period last year, with more than 16,000 people crossing since January. But it also acknowledged that smugglers are adapting, using bigger boats and launching from further along the French coast. That shift was visible in the Portsmouth arrival, which was the first such boat landing in Hampshire and one of the longest Channel crossings by people smugglers.

Political reaction was sharp. Ministers said the right to peaceful protest is fundamental, but that the Dover and Portsmouth scenes crossed a line. The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, met police chiefs and urged them to use all powers necessary, including new powers to ban face coverings in specific areas. Police leaders said forces were ready to use those powers. Hampshire Police later announced that anyone wearing a face covering to conceal their identity at a planned protest in Portsmouth could be arrested. The Conservative opposition said the disorder reflected genuine anger about the government's failure to control the border, while Reform UK condemned masked protests but said it understood public frustration.

The fallout also hit the RNLI. The charity said volunteers had faced unacceptable online and physical abuse after bringing migrants ashore. Some crew members were called traitors, and their names, addresses and photographs were shared online. The RNLI advised volunteers to consider not wearing branded clothing in public and reviewed security at its locations. The Portsmouth lifeboat station was closed temporarily, with the charity hoping to reopen it as soon as possible. The RNLI said small boat incidents make up just over 1 per cent of its rescue work and that it makes no judgement about who it rescues.

A week later, anti-immigration protesters and counter-protesters gathered again in Portsmouth. South Coast Patriots led an anti-migration march, while Stand Up to Racism organised a counter-demonstration. Police enforced a face-covering ban across a designated area. Around 1,500 anti-migration protesters and several hundred counter-protesters took part. The event was largely peaceful, though there were some scuffles and angry shouting. Police made three arrests, including one person suspected of violent disorder in the previous weekend's demonstrations and one on suspicion of concealing their identity. A 76-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of concealing his identity, and was later charged.

The weekend also produced an unrelated error in Portsmouth. Members of Pakistan's under-19 cricket team were staying in a hotel when a crowd gathered after wrongly believing they were migrants. The Pakistan Cricket Board said people knocked on the team's doors at night. Police said the situation de-escalated and no offences were committed.

The story now reaches beyond two days of protest. It has become a test of policing, border control and public trust, with further demonstrations planned and police under pressure to act faster and use new powers.