Fears grow of Portsmouth becoming new target for gangs after "extraordinary" migrant crossing
Politicians demand answers after first ever small boat of migrants lands in Eastney
Fears Portsmouth is now a new target for criminal gangs looking to ship in illegal migrants have been aired at the highest levels of British government after the “extraordinary” move to bring in asylum seekers to Eastney.
The first ever small boat crossing to land in Hampshire on September 6 has raised concerns from Solent MPs and Hampshire’s police and crime commissioner Donna Jones that more may follow, with the potential to spark further protests and civil unrest.
Questions are being asked after the “mega-dinghy” carrying around 120 migrants made the unprecedented crossing from Jobourg in Normandy to Eastney.
The boat, which was intercepted by Yarmouth and Bembridge RNLI lifeboats in the English Channel, made the 68-mile journey “one of the longest small boat crossings recorded” and the first small boat crossing to land in Hampshire.
Residents spoken to by The News said facilitating an “illegal entry” should not have been allowed. The boat was met by around 200 protesters as it docked in Portsmouth around 5pm before riot police turned up as coaches to transport the migrants were blocked. Clashes between protesters and police erupted with a dispersal order issued before order was restored by around 4am.
The Home Office condemned what it called the “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” of protesters, before adding: “This government is doing the hard and necessary work of bearing down on small boat crossings, with the lowest number of June to August arrivals since 2020.”
But there are now growing fears Portsmouth and other Hampshire areas could be in danger of more illegal ventures from across the Channel as criminal gangs prey on more vulnerable parts of southern England away from the more heavily policed and funded areas in Dover.
Crime Commissioner Ms Jones said it will be a “significant issue” for the government if people traffickers shift their destinations across England’s south coast. Ms Jones said “we’re not set up for it” in Portsmouth after saying the government had “invested heavily into Dover” to deal with the situation there.
The 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.”
Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage, speaking in the Commons on Monday of last week told Home Office Minister Sarah Jones: “We still know very little about this extraordinary mega-dinghy turning up on our shores. This is not just west a little bit from Dover; this is halfway down the south coast.
“Will criminal gangs launch more small boats in the direction of Hampshire? Will the minister share that intelligence with coastal MPs? Where was the intelligence on this incident?
“Can she also answer claims that the police were not properly resourced? More than 140 officers were dragged away from our communities and from communities as far away as London to police and deal with this incident. Can she please assure us that such incidents will be dealt with better in the future and that she will be doing everything to ensure that it does not happen again?”
Responding, the Home Office minister said: “(Ms Dinenage) asked whether attempts to land further down the coast were an emerging problem. We are aware that, partly because we are making it harder for people to launch boats from ‘traditional’ places, they are starting to launch them further west along the French coast.
“There is no evidence to suggest that they particularly want to land anywhere that would not enable them to get to Manston (where asylum seekers are processed in Kent), which is where they would normally go, but we will of course totally keep all this under review.”
Other Solent MPs also spoke out with Alan Mak, Amanda Martin, Joe Robertson, and Richard Quigley raising issues over the emergence of this new, more westerly small-boat landing route and what further reassurance, resourcing and action the government would provide.
The Home Office minister said they had doubled the number of National Crime Agency officers tasked with dismantling organised immigration crime with “system-wide” arrests up 70% and more than 1,100 boats and engines seized since 2024. “And, in partnership with French law enforcement, we have prevented over 48,000 attempted crossings,” she said.
There was also the “landmark” new deal, signed in April, securing a 40% increase in French boots on the ground, taking the total to over 1,000, as well as enhanced surveillance technology and new specialist units.
Ms Jones continued: “Since the election, we have made over 6,000 small boat returns – a 64% increase on the last two years of the previous government.
“And we have removed more than 80,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals from these shores. As a result of the action this government has taken, this summer saw the lowest number of small boat arrivals since 2020.
“So far this year, the number of crossings is down by over 43% on last year. Progress is being made, but we are not complacent.
“We must and we will be unrelenting, not least in response to any shift in tactics by the gangs. The use of larger boats with over a hundred people crammed on board is a clear cause for concern, and we remain alert to the potential for crossings on less frequently targeted stretches of water off our coastline.”
The Home Office has said that since July 2024, more than 80,000 immigration offenders and foreign criminals have been removed or returned.
But despite the staunch government rhetoric on migrants, locals have said they are now on high alert about more crossings and have vowed to stamp down on any further attempts.
Residents have said they are concerned about the possibility of the area becoming a target and have questioned why France did not intercept the migrants, with a Home Office spokesperson telling The News that was “for the French authorities to answer”.
Liz and Ron Thomas, of Gosport, were visiting Eastney two days after the incident - and believed the protesting shows the strength of opposition to migrants coming into the country.
Ron, 80, said: “I think it was a justifiable protest. It’s come to something in this country when the police and the other services go to arrest the citizens of this country from trying to prevent an illegal entry to this country and (the migrants) are the ones who are protected. People have had enough. I fear there could be more of these incidents.”
Liz, 79, said: “People are just so fed up. It’s just got to a point where they (the protesters) feel they’ve got to do it. People like Danny (Thomas) are forming some kind of leadership and giving hope and unity to people.”
Ron added: “There’s now an antipathy towards the RNLI which was held in high esteem. You have to ask objectively, what were they doing? It’s easy to say they were being a taxi service - and you can see it.
“Were their lives in danger? It’s very unfortunate for a public institution. And there’s a sense of irony that (the migrants) came via the Mulberry Harbour constructions used during D-Day to protect our country.”
Other locals have admitted concerns about the potential growing trend of migrants targeting Portsmouth. A fisherman, who was on his boat around midday on Sunday, thought it was a “training exercise” such was the large number of boats from police, Border Force, the RNLI, Coastguard and the Harbour Master.
He said it is a worry that local lives are being put at risk if authorities are out rescuing migrants instead. “If something happens to me and I’m out at sea and the Coastguard are dealing with that it ties them up. So I’m in danger because all the boats are dealing with the immigrants,” he said.
“I saw them all lined up on the jetty and being processed. They had tents set up here on the Saturday so they knew they were coming before they even left on Sunday morning. It was obviously pre-planned.
“I don’t want it to carry on happening because if they are taking all our local RNLI and Coastguard then it puts people like myself in danger. If something happens to me out there and all our local response units are dealing with migrants then it has a knock on effect.
“You might see one or two more crossings this year but it will be next year when we really start to see it because the weather will start getting bad soon. The water temperature is going to change and the sea will be rougher so they won’t be able to do it.
“But when the weather gets nice again in early summer I can believe they will try it again.
“People have the right to protest and air their views that we don’t want them coming here. It’s a big risk to everybody.”
Another local, who had gone for a swim, said: “There were tents down here, people handing out flip flops, sliders, tracksuit bottoms, hoodies and food. They got pulled in by the RNLI which is charity funded - do people paying them know their money is going towards bringing migrants ashore. Why aren’t France sorting them out?
“You see videos of these (migrants) and they’ve got tattoos of AK (guns) on their faces and saying they’re going to get our wives. They better not cross my path.
“(The British authorities) knew they were coming. Our ancestors stopped the Germans coming here and now we can’t even stop a boat of whoever they are. It’s upsetting everyone, we’re all angry about it.
“They’re illegals, so if I do something illegal I get prosecuted. They come over here illegally and what do they get? New clothes, laptop and mobile phones.
“When riot police turn up it gets people’s backs up. People have had enough. No one feels safe with them here. It’s a two-tier system.”
The migrants being brought ashore at Eastney also had an impact on the Hayling to Eastney ferry service which was left out of pocket as customers were left stranded.
Colin Hill, who runs the ferry, said they lost half a day’s worth of money after being ordered to remain in Hayling on Sunday afternoon as people were left marooned.
He said the service was abruptly halted by Border Force with them losing business over what he described as an “illegal entry into the UK” with a “pre-arranged” journey.
Mr Hill said of the impact it had on the ferry service: “Border Force said you are not allowed to use (Eastney) pontoon - I don’t know what power they’ve got to do that. It stopped the ferry full stop. We had people stuck over (at Hayling) so in the end we had to go around to Southsea Marina.
“It's a totally unsuitable harbour to bring migrants into. There’s only one way in and one way out with the road. There was no plan B to get the migrants away.
“It definitely disrupted our business because we had to stop running the ferry. That’s why a commercial pontoon like this is not suitable.”
He added: ““The French could have stopped it on their waters. I think facilitating an illegal entry into the UK is a criminal offence. If there’s no May Day call then what are the lifeboats doing out there in the first place? They wouldn’t have just gone out there just by chance.
“So they were obviously asked to go and pick them up. Legally I’m not sure if that is acceptable.
“It needs looking at. It’s obviously not the lifeboats' faults, they’re just volunteers. It’s higher up the chain. There could be criminal offences.
“Facilitating illegal entry into the UK is a criminal offence and to me the lifeboats weren’t there for no reason, there was no May Day so what were they doing there?
“It was pre-arranged. It was a collection service not a rescue. I’m pretty sure that is illegal.”
Meanwhile Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt said bringing migrants to Eastney beach was a “completely unsuitable location” that “put people at risk”.
He said Border Force, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Home Office were responsible for the decision - with the council totally in the dark about bringing the migrants ashore in Portsmouth.
Cllr Pitt said: "The government needs to take more action to prevent small boat crossings. Clearly people are not happy with the situation and we respect everyone's right to protest but it should be done peacefully and within the law.”
He added: “It was a completely unsuitable location to bring the boats ashore, this entire situation was avoidable and has brought needless disruption to our city.”