Protesters chase migrant vans from Portsmouth to Dover
Protesters chase migrant vans from Portsmouth to Dover
Cameron HendersonMon, September 7, 2026 at 8:45 AM UTC
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Protesters surround a van carrying migrants from Portsmouth to Dover - Eddie Mitchell
Protesters chased vans carrying migrants from Portsmouth to Dover overnight following demonstrations against the arrival of a mega-dinghy.
Footage posted on X by one of the protesters shows a car travelling down a motorway behind a convoy of white vans and coaches.
The video was captioned: “In pursuit of migrant coaches from Portsmouth NOW!! We are heading towards DOVER.”
It comes after hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth on Sunday evening after a mega-dinghy carrying 140 migrants reached the UK from Normandy.
Around 500 demonstrators, thought to be supporters of Daniel Thomas, an anti-migrant activist, are believed to have joined a protest in the area, with some dressed in all black.
It follows a similar protest which blocked the Port of Dover on Saturday.
Those following the migrant vans in the early hours on Monday morning claimed to have been pulled over by police.
The footage was posted by the account Andy Public UK, which regularly shares content critical of illegal migration.
The account has since shared pictures and a video of alleged migrant coaches parked behind barriers at Dover cruise terminal.
The large boat of migrants was intercepted in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth earlier on Sunday. It is believed to have been the longest-ever Channel crossing by people-smugglers.
Demonstrators blocked the only access road to the marina in Eastney, Portsmouth, where it is thought the migrants were being held.
Police used riot shields and pepper spray to force the crowds back, but the line broke through the weight of numbers. Protesters then made their way inside the marina compound.
Demonstrators blocked the only access road to the marina in Eastney, Portsmouth - Eddie Mitchell
Footage showed protesters wading into the water where they splashed officers and one man being removed from the floor after lying down behind a police van.
The protesters are understood to have left after police issued a dispersal order for the area, giving them the power to arrest anyone refusing to leave the harbour.
Thomas, who launched Patriot Platform to protest against small boat arrivals and was livestreaming Sunday’s demonstration, told his supporters to leave after the dispersal order was issued.
A Government spokesman condemned the “intimidating and thuggish behaviour”.
“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder,” he said.
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“We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.”
Emma Reynolds, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told LBC Radio on Monday morning: “Obviously, as a politician, I absolutely support people’s right to peaceful protest. But this crosses a line and I just want to take the opportunity to thank the police and other emergency services who have brought this under control.
“We do not want to see this kind of behaviour anywhere, frankly.”
Ms Reynolds added that the public have “legitimate concerns about immigration” but stressed that “net migration is down” and “the level of boat crossings is at a seven-year low”.
French authorities estimated up to 140 people were on board the mega-dinghy which crossed the Channel on Sunday – 90 short of the record 230 who crossed on a similar boat last month.
The boat’s occupants came ashore in Portsmouth in two Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats after being rescued from a single dinghy south of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.
They were then met by protesters.
Police used riot shields and pepper spray to force the crowds back - PA
In a livestream from the scene, Thomas known as Danny Tommo, could be seen standing in the sea at the Eastney shingle beach, alongside a small group of other protesters, with police officers looking on.
“Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here,” Thomas, an associate of the activist Tommy Robinson, said. “If you put them back on boats and take them back to France, we will get out the water.”
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.”
A Home Office spokesman 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 per cent more boots on the ground on French beaches.”
Donna Jones, Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner, said officers were sent from “all over the country including the Met Police” to help police the protest in Portsmouth under mutual aid agreements.
After overnight protests, she told BBC’s Today programme “we’re not set up for it” in the city and the Government had “invested heavily into Dover” to deal with the situation there.
The police and crime commissioner said: “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.”
Kent Police and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police were approached for comment.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
