Anti-asylum and anti-racist protests clash in Guildhall Square

A sizeable crowd gathered outside the civic offices following revelations that the Home Office had placed asylum seekers in 55 houses in multiple occupations (HMOs) across the city.

Portsmouth City Council confirmed on Tuesday (19 August 2025) it had not been “aware of the number of properties being used” until notified by the Home Office last week.

Marie Pigney, spokesperson for Portsmouth Patriots, said her concerns centred on “illegal economic migrant men” rather than asylum seekers generally. She claimed most of those staying at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea were men of “fighting age and we have an issue with that.”

Pigney suggested using “disused cruise ships” instead of hotels or HMOs, and once full capacity was reached, to “take them to the Falklands Islands or some other island we own and process them there.”

She said her worries were rooted in “ideologies” rather than nationality: “we need to stop the mass importation because it’s changing our country and making people feel uneasy. We all get on multiculturally but if you flood tens of thousands of people of a different ideology into a country it’s going to change the country.”

Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) Portsmouth accused anti-asylum protesters of issuing threats and abuse at previous seafront demonstrations.

Pigney denied most of the allegations but acknowledged police had intervened to stop protesters assaulting SUTR members at a recent protest. “We can’t control everyone that stands on our side, just like they can’t control who stands on their side. Physical abuse is not allowed, you shouldn’t touch anyone just because you disagree with them.”

She also spoke of her personal attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity, describing her religion as “a life cult not a death one, that’s what Islam is.”

SUTR representative Simon Magorian said Islamophobia was “absolutely central” to the anti-asylum protests. “They are absolutely obsessed with islam,” he said, citing the recent presence of far-right groups such as the Homeland Party and White Vanguard in Portsmouth and Waterlooville.

He described them as “a basket of deplorables, a united front of racists and idiots who really hate modern Britain.”

On claims asylum seekers are prioritised over British residents, Magorian said: “We need more housing in the country full stop, they stopped doing proper council housing in the 1980s under Thatcher. What we need is a massive housebuilding programme for British people and everybody. We’re in a situation where we’re fighting over crumbs, we need a bigger cake.”

On allegations of assault, he said he and many SUTR members had been threatened. “At these protests, the women on our side have heard things such as one day you’ll be raped by a refugee, but also i hope you do get raped. The behaviour has been appalling and we’ve filmed a lot of it and we can put it online if it’s needed.”

As of 30 June this year, Portsmouth hosts 700 supported asylum seekers, with 617 in dispersed accommodation such as flats, family homes, or HMOs.

A further 73 are in contingency accommodation (hotels) and 10 receive subsistence-only support, where asylum seekers have their own accommodation but receive funds for basic necessities.

Including refugees from Ukrainian and Afghan resettlement schemes, the total number of refugees and asylum seekers in Portsmouth is 998, or 0.47 per cent of the local population.

By comparison, Southampton has 308 people in supported accommodation: 190 in dispersed housing, 92 in contingency, and 26 on subsistence support.

However, Southampton has taken in more refugees through resettlement schemes, including 324 from Ukraine and 137 from Afghanistan.

According to new government statistics, in the year ending June 2025 49,000 people were detected entering the UK irregularly, a 27 per cent increase on the previous year.

Small boat crossings accounted for the vast majority, with 43,000 people (88 per cent) arriving this way. This was 38 per cent more than the previous year, though slightly below the 2022 peak of 46,000.

Afghans were the largest nationality among small boat arrivals, making up 15 per cent (6,400 people).

During the same period, 111,000 people claimed asylum in the UK, 14 per cent more than the previous year and higher than the previous peak of 103,000 in 2002.

Asylum claims have nearly doubled since 2021. Half of claimants arrived through irregular routes, while 37 per cent had previously entered the UK on a visa.

The UK received the fifth largest number of asylum seekers in the EU+ in the year ending March 2025, after Germany, Spain, Italy and France.