Ant Middleton gives speech to Portsmouth City Council about small boat crossings
Ant Middleton had his say at a Portsmouth City Council meeting about small boat arrivals
Portsmouth’s Reform UK group had a celebrity backer to a motion it brough to the city council last night - Ant Middleton.
The former soldier and presenter of television’s SAS: Who Dares Wins spoke in favour of the motion, which asked for several pledges for the council including “That the great majority of Portsmouth residents who hold concerns about small boat arrivals are law-abiding people with entirely legitimate concerns, that they took no part in any disorder, and that they are neither racists nor thugs” and “That Portsmouth is not a suitable disembarkation point for small boat arrivals and must not be permitted to become one, and that residents were failed by a chain of decisions taken remotely and without reference to this city or its council.”
Mr Middleton spoke before the council debate, and opened by saying: “I know Portsmouth is a very very proud city. We are grafters, we are working men and we are working women. When I see what is happening to Portsmouth, and when I say this I mean we are a proud naval city. When we see the boats coming in, which is ultimately illegal activity - now, talk about a demoralised city.
“They see safety and security as our main concerns. It used to be cost of living, but now safety and security are our main concerns.”
To hear all of his speech, see the video above.
The motion was not passed, as only Reform UK councillors and one Conservative voted for it. The council had already written to the Home Office to protest against the possibility of Portsmouth Port being used for migrants arrivals, and at the meeting council leader Steve Pitt read out a reply which said that Portsmouth would not become a “designated landing place”.