Seven police officers were assaulted and multiple police vehicles sustained damage during an anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth, prompting renewed concerns over escalating far-right disorder across the UK.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening when around 200 activists, many clad in black, gathered in Portsmouth. Their protest followed the interception of a small boat carrying 140 asylum seekers off the coast earlier that day.
Spencer Wragg, chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, confirmed that seven officers were attacked during a standoff with protesters who were attempting to prevent the newly arrived migrants from being driven away. Speaking to LBC, Mr Wragg stated: "We’ve had several officers that were assaulted, obviously during that incident. The number is seven officers."
While no major injuries were reported among the officers, Mr Wragg described a "plethora of different injuries caused in different ways." He added that there had been "a lot of criminal damage as well as the assault on my colleagues." Police vehicles were reportedly pelted with stones during the confrontation.
"What we saw was people breaking the law, assaulting officers, causing damage to property, and I’m sure for those residents in that area, that must be quite a frightening experience," Mr Wragg told LBC.
Despite the extent of the disorder, no arrests were made on the night of the protest. However, Mr Wragg indicated that an ongoing investigation is underway, and he anticipates arrests will be made in the coming days and weeks.
The Portsmouth protest took place less than 48 hours after similar scenes in Dover, where masked individuals blockaded roads in another anti-migrant demonstration. The Home Office strongly condemned the "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" witnessed during the Portsmouth incident.
The events have prompted politicians and campaigners to express fears of further unrest, particularly along the southern coast of England, a key point of arrival for asylum seekers. In the past seven days alone, 625 individuals have been recorded crossing the English Channel illegally.
Concerns have also been voiced that human traffickers may be shifting their target destinations for Channel crossings along England's coast, leading to increased activity in new areas.
Intelligence suggests that local 'Patriot groups', reportedly affiliated with the national 'Patriot Platform' network led by Daniel Thomas, an associate of Tommy Robinson, have urged their members to be prepared to respond to further migrant boat arrivals at ports such as Bournemouth, Poole, and Portsmouth.
On Sunday evening, Dorset Police attended and monitored a smaller protest that formed in Lake Drive in Poole before moving to West Quay Road. Dorset Police issued a public warning advising people to "exercise caution when reacting to unverified information being shared online or on social media."
Addressing the police's preparedness for such demonstrations, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden assigned responsibility to protest organisers. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr McFadden stated: "It’s the fault of the organisers of protests if the police were not aware."
He continued: "It’s not the Government or the Home Office who planned the protest. That’s the fault of those who planned the protests. And if they do that in a covert way, then you can have a situation where the police won’t know in advance, but the responsibility for that lies fairly and squarely with those who organised the protests, not with the Home Office or the Government."
When questioned about authorities being unprepared for small boat arrivals at Portsmouth specifically, Mr McFadden described the effort to adapt to new routes used by people smugglers as a "constant and ongoing effort."
Regarding the protests themselves, Mr McFadden acknowledged public concern and anger about small boat arrivals but firmly stated: "But what we can’t have is intimidation of the police. We cannot have threatening behaviour, and we had some of that at the weekend, and that’s simply not acceptable."
