Police injured and vehicles damaged as anti-migrant mob storms Portsmouth in protest described as 'wake-up call'
A police probe is underway after hundreds protested against the arrival of 140 migrants on the Hampshire shore on a so-called "mega dinghy"
A police probe has been launched after several officers were left injured as an anti-migrant mob descended on Portsmouth.
Listen to this article
Hundreds of people protested after 140 migrants arrived on the Hampshire shore on a so-called "mega dinghy" - in what is thought to be the first time a large boat containing asylum seekers has been brought to Portsmouth.
Police said that a number of officers were injured and several vehicles were left damaged during the standoff, which lasted until about 4am on Monday.
A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said an investigation had been launched "to identify offenders responsible for any assaults on officers, criminal damage to vehicles or other criminal offences".
They added: "A number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the standoff and a handful of police officers were treated at the scene for injuries, none of which were serious.
Read more: Moment ‘Portsmouth grandma’ kayaks out to migrant protesters to deliver supplies
“Violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest.
“We can also confirm that Border Force has advised us that individuals from the boat have been transported outside of Hampshire for processing as part of the normal process after they were safely disembarked.”
The mob of around 200 people blocked roads from the Eastney Landing ferry port for hours and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant protest of the weekend.
It comes as the local police commissioner described the protests - which followed similar scenes in Dover on Saturday night - as a "wake-up" call for the government.
Donna Jones, the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said the protests on Sunday night were "largely peaceful".
Probed on whether she agreed with the government's depiction of the protestors as "thuggish", the Conservative politician said: "There were crimes committed and they will now be investigated and I would not be surprised if there are arrests that come off the back of the footage that was captured as evidence last night."
But she added that "hundreds" had behaved lawfully and called the protest a "wake-up call to the government... that the British people are fed up with the lack of control of our borders".
It is believed around 140 migrants landed ashore after being taken to the landing site by the RNLI - a mere narrow shingle bank with only one road leading towards the city.
Dozens of anti-migrant demonstrators waded into the sea in Portsmouth to meet 140 asylum seekers rescued from a packed mega-dinghy that had left France.
The group sprinted across the beach before entering the water yesterday afternoon, chanting "stop the boats" and "enough is enough" at the moment migrants arrived on a British coastguard ship.
The mega-dinghy had set off from the Baie de Seine in Normandy – a 180-mile drive from Calais – suggesting people smugglers are expanding their launch points along the French coast to evade enforcement efforts.
Rather than intervene, the French coastguard shadowed the vessel for ten hours, claiming it was too dangerous because of the number of people on board.
British lifeboats, supported by a helicopter and a plane, then took over and brought the migrants to the UK.
Following calls to action on social media, protesters flocked to the coast and spent at least five hours on the beach and in the water. The demonstration continued until 3am on Monday, when police threatened arrests after a dispersal order was imposed.
Read more: Founder of group which put flags on lampposts charged with 14 offences
Read more: Senior Reform figures condemn ‘stop the boats’ balaclava protest in Dover
Read more: Founder of group which put flags on lampposts charged with 14 offences
Read more: Senior Reform figures condemn ‘stop the boats’ balaclava protest in Dover
It comes in the wake of overnight protests in Dover on Saturday.
Large crowds of up to 500 masked, black-clad men blocked road access to the Port of Dover on Saturday, in scenes which have been condemned by politicians.
The dinghy sparked a major response as it headed towards the coast, with a helicopter, aeroplane and lifeboats sent to the scene.
Videos circulating on social media show groups of people being taken on lifeboats to shore near the ferry port, where several coaches were parked.
Speaking to LBC, Treasury Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds said the behaviour "crosses a line".
She condemned the behaviour as "thuggish" and "intimidating", adding that the British people have "legitimate concerns about immigration".
However, the MP pointed to progress made by the Government in the area, saying: "The level of boat crossings is at a seven-year low.
"We are making progress on the criminal people smugglers who are putting lives at risk."
She continued: "Under our government, only 38 per cent of migrant claims are successful.
"This is still a big problem [...] we are starting to make really positive progress on this."
She said the criminal gangs were changing their tactics to use larger boats “and we are changing ours accordingly”.
Yesterday, around 500 demonstrators are believed to have joined the Portsmouth protest.
Livestreaming while standing in the sea at Eastney beach, Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo – an associate of ring-wing activist Tommy Robinson – said: “Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here.”
He added: “It was only yesterday (at the protests in Dover) when we warned them that we will not accept this any more, and that this is no longer an option to tell us that the boat numbers are down.
“This isn’t about the numbers being down… this is about understanding that this has to come to an end now.”
The Baie de Seine to Portsmouth crossing is thought to have been one of the longest ever people-smuggling trips.
On Monday morning, Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said it will be a “significant issue” for the Government if people traffickers shift their destinations across England’s south coast.
Following the overnight protests, she said “we’re not set up for it” in the city, and the Government has “invested heavily into Dover” to deal with the situation there.
The police and crime commissioner added: “We have hundreds of miles of coastline across southern England and if Dover is no longer the destination of choice, and instead there is going to be a spread across southern England, this is a significant issue for the Government.
“My concern now, as a police and crime commissioner, is that we don’t have this repeated.”
Cllr George Madgwick, leader of Reform UK in Hampshire, wrote in a post on X that “over 100 migrant men” had arrived on the Portsmouth shores on Sunday.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted: “This week Andy Burnham struck an agreement for 45 more officers on French beaches.
"Today a boat launched from Baie de Seine, 170 miles from Calais, arriving on the beaches of Hampshire for the very first time. This is a joke. Only Reform will send the boats back.”
The Government has criticized the “thuggish behaviour” of anti-illegal migrant protesters in Dover and Portsmouth.
A spokesperson said: “We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we are seeing tonight."
“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder."
🔺Thousands of people are at the quayside in Portsmouth pic.twitter.com/GuNFCxhD26
— Southampton Times (@sotontimes) September 6, 2026
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: “In response to a report on September 6 of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, HM Coastguard sent lifeboats, an HM Coastguard helicopter, an HM Coastguard aeroplane and HM Coastguard Rescue Teams.
“Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and South Central Ambulance Service were also sent.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election.
“We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.
“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”