Gosport braces for fresh anti-migrant protest on Sunday

A town on edge

Gosport is preparing for another anti-migrant protest on Sunday, after a small boat carrying migrants arrived from Normandy earlier this month and sparked angry demonstrations. The Hampshire town is an unusual landing point. Most small boats cross from near Calais to Kent, but the journey from Normandy to Hampshire is much longer.

Protests and claims

The arrival led to protests in which far-right demonstrators were criticised for wearing balaclavas and taunting police. Footage showed police being physically confronted and taunted with flares. One local resident said: 'I was in the car and I saw all these mass people and the police were there. I was fearful. Yeah, I was scared.' Another described the protesters as 'very, very peaceful' but accepted the pictures could look frightening.

Steve Connolly, founder of Hampshire Resistance, organised the initial protests. He is an army veteran and has been involved in hotel protests. He said activists had monitored dinghies leaving France and shared real-time updates online. Asked whether the aim was to physically stop boats landing, he said: 'No, it's our voice. It's loud to let... Listen, if you don't protest, nobody's going to know there's a problem.' He accused the government and 'the loony left' of trying to silence protesters.

A network of groups from across the country descended on Gosport at short notice. Some described themselves as patriots and wore black balaclavas. Connolly rejected comparisons with Nazis and said protesters covered their faces because they feared arrest, targeting or losing jobs. He claimed serving police officers and army personnel were among them. The groups were coordinating online. A recruitment meeting advertised on social media was held in the Hampshire countryside for people who had 'had enough' and refused to stay silent.

The Block House site

Gosport has become a focus because the Home Office has refused to say whether more small boats will be allowed to land there. Boats have left Normandy for the Hampshire coast. Migrants have to be brought ashore and processed somewhere. The Home Office decided to use a military site known locally as the Block House. On October 4, 149 migrants were brought there after being rescued in the Channel. Protesters tried to block the boat by tracking the RNLI's progress.

Local authorities say the landing puts significant pressure on stretched resources. Gosport is a peninsula, and the Block House is on a peninsula at the end of it. There are single track roads on and off. They say it is not an appropriate place to land such boats when local people already feel angry and disengaged, and the area lacks acute emergency facilities.

Deprivation and local voices

The town has a rich maritime and naval past and the highest concentration of veterans in the country. It is also ranked the most deprived district in Hampshire. Residents described it as quiet but run down, with unemployment helping to fuel anger. Gosport is a third of a mile across the water from Portsmouth. The ferry takes four minutes. Portsmouth has fared better economically, with multi-billion pound regeneration projects. There is a lot of need for housing.

Mike Brown, who campaigns for refugee rights, said the far right had weaponised social media. He said lies about asylum made people angry and scared. Asked about local concerns that people arriving have no documents, he said asylum is not as big or as dangerous as people think and migration is part of a healthy country. He said Gosport has always been a migrant town. Femi, a care worker who settled in Gosport, said he did not feel good about calls to stop immigration. He said immigrants were trying their best to support the economy and care for the elderly and vulnerable.

What happens next

Another demonstration is planned for Sunday. Protest groups from across the country are expected to converge on the town. Gosport, shaped by its geography and naval history, now finds itself on the frontline of one of the country's most polarising political challenges.