Far-right protesters block coaches in Portsmouth after 140 asylum seekers land
UK coastguard intercepted a small boat carrying around 140 asylum seekers near Portsmouth on Sunday, triggering a major rescue operation and a far-right protest at the port. Activists tried to stop coaches taking migrants to a processing centre in Kent.
On Sunday, HM Coastguard responded to reports of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, deploying a helicopter, an aeroplane and lifeboats. The vessel, spotted south of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, was carrying an estimated 140 people and is believed to be the largest such boat ever to arrive in Portsmouth.
Two RNLI lifeboats transferred the migrants to shore in Portsmouth, from where they were being taken by coach to the Manston processing centre near Ramsgate in Kent, the usual site for handling small boat arrivals. Social media videos showed groups being ferried ashore, where several coaches were waiting.
Protest and blockade
Far-right activists gathered at the scene and attempted to block the coaches from leaving with the migrants aboard. Portsmouth councillor George Madgwick, leader of Reform UK in Hampshire, posted on X that more than 100 migrant men had arrived on the city's shores.
The protest was livestreamed by Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, a former bodyguard for far-right figure Tommy Robinson, who urged his viewers to travel to Portsmouth and join the demonstration. Thomas recently founded Patriot Platform, which blocked part of the port of Dover on Saturday, and previously ran Operation Overlord, during which he and supporters filmed themselves slashing abandoned dinghies on a French beach — an act that led French authorities to ban him from the country.
Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire police and the south central ambulance service also took part in the response. A Home Office spokesperson said more than 48,000 crossing attempts have been prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the government changed, with small boat crossings down over 40% this year compared with the same period last year. However, smugglers appear to be adapting by launching boats from more distant points along the French coast, making the journeys more dangerous.
