Ordinary Britons last night physically blocked the latest Channel landing after a mega-dinghy carrying around 140 men was brought ashore at Eastney Beach in Portsmouth, only for police to turn on the protesters.
Dramatic footage circulating online shows crowds gathered at the marina after dark, emergency lights flashing across the shingle, and men standing in the water as lifeboats and coaches arrived. One local even paddled in by canoe with supplies for those holding the line.
It is thought to be the first time such a large small-boat group has been landed on the Hampshire coast, after launching from the Baie de Seine in Normandy – 170 miles from the usual Calais route. Rescue helicopters, aircraft and RNLI lifeboats were scrambled. The arrivals were due to be taken by coach to the Manston processing centre in Kent.
They did not get a clear run.
Hundreds of demonstrators, some in black and wearing face coverings, blocked the only road out of Eastney Marina. Police formed lines with riot shields. Reports said officers used pepper spray as the crowd pressed forward and some protesters broke into the compound. A Section 14 dispersal order was issued, warning anyone who stayed past the early hours faced arrest.
Livestreamer Daniel Thomas – known as Danny Tommo and linked to earlier action at Dover – stood in the sea and told viewers the roads were blocked and the coaches would not leave. “Get in your cars and get down here now,” he urged.
Reform UK’s Hampshire leader Cllr George Madgwick said more than 100 migrant men had arrived on Portsmouth’s shores. Party leader Nigel Farage called the new landing route “a joke” after ministers had just announced extra officers on French beaches. “Only Reform will send the boats back,” he posted.
The government condemned “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” while insisting the right to protest must not become disorder. Hampshire Police said they were working with Border Force and the coastguard “to ensure the prevention of any disorder” and that those landed would be taken out of the county for processing as normal.
The scenes came a day after masked protesters blocked roads at the Port of Dover, catching police off guard and causing hours of disruption. No arrests were reported there. Last night’s standoff at Eastney left many asking the same question now echoing across social media: why the rush to contain British men on a British beach, while the boats keep coming?
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