Migrant boat arrives in Dover after planned Gosport landing is aborted

Around 200 protesters remained in Gosport yesterday evening despite confirmation a small boat of migrants which was thought to be on its way to Hampshire has left the area.

It comes after the Home Office had previously confirmed that it is “increasingly likely” that migrants collected from a small boat in the Channel would be arriving in Gosport, prompting protesters to gather.

British rescue boats were sent to collect the passengers of a migrant dinghy which spent around 30 hours at sea. The boat left the Normandy coast on Monday morning with the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirming the migrants will be transferred to Border Security Command.

A Hampshire Police statement said: “We have been working with partner agencies today, following a report of a small boat crossing in the English Channel.

“We know how these incidents can impact local communities. As a precaution, we deployed officers to Gosport and Portsmouth this afternoon to support our partners in the event of any emergency at sea, to facilitate any peaceful protest and ensure the safety of the public.

“We have been in contact with our partners including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Border Security Command throughout the day. The boat and those on board are no longer in our force area.

“We know a small number of people have been following proceedings today and have come out to Gosport and Portsmouth.

“As we start to stand down the police operation, please be assured that officers will remain in those areas this evening while people leave the area and to maintain public safety.

“Thank you for your patience while we have been dealing with this and sorry for any inconvenience it has caused.”

However about 200 people remained at the police cordon at the road entrance to the marina at Gosport, with a number of men wearing black, several with face covering.

Some protesters were chanting “send them back”, while the black-clad protesters remained quiet as they lined up face to face with the police officers.

The line of black-clad protesters have now left the Gosport protest, and a number of other demonstrators followed, reducing the size of the crowd considerably. There were six arrests.

The update comes after Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, shared a message sent from the government department seemingly confirming that the migrants will be dropped off in Gosport before being transferred to Kent due to “operational circumstances”.

But the MP for Gosport said she has been told that Border Force is taking those on board an intercepted small boat in the Channel “to Dover by water”.

In a post on her Facebook page, Dame Caroline said: “I have just had confirmation that Border Force has intercepted the small boat that was reported as crossing the Channel earlier today and is now taking those on board to Dover by water.

“This is a good result. All day I have been making the case to the Home Office that this boat should not disembark in Gosport.

“Gosport Borough Council Leader Cllr Zoe Huggins BEM, Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones for Mayor, and I have been united and clear in our message that Gosport and Portsmouth Harbour are not suitable for small boat arrivals.

The decision came after Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones raised serious concerns in the wake of the protests in Portsmouth as a result of migrants being taken to Portsmouth earlier this month.

She had urged UK Border Force to collect migrants in a small boat and take them to Dover, adding “this is the assurance I was seeking 10 days ago from the Home Secretary”.

“Hampshire is not prepared or set-up to process people travelling into Britain this way, and the burden on the police to deal with the arrival and potential protest activity is unsustainable.

"Following the events of September 6 when a migrant boat was brought ashore to Portsmouth, I wrote to the Home Secretary to request immediate action to stop Hampshire becoming an established landing site.

“I am deeply concerned the government has not been in contact with me about its plans to land crossings in Hampshire, whilst expecting me to pay for the policing response on behalf of the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

"This is no way to run an operation like this.

“The event on September 6 sparked multiple large scale protests, and caused a great deal of concern across local communities. It drained valuable police resources with hundreds of police officers drafted in to keep the community safe.

“Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary cannot repeatedly divert its resources to manage landings the county was never designed to receive."

Meanwhile Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, shared a YouTube livestream of the boat from the Channel and had urged supporters to head to Gosport, claiming the migrants were being taken to Fort Blockhouse.

Mr Thomas – founder of anti-migration group Patriot Platform and an associate of political activist Tommy Robinson – was a leader of recent protests in Portsmouth and organised demonstrations in Dover. He has since told his followers that the migrants were being taken further east along the coast.

However many protesters remain out in Gosport this evening where there remains a heavy police presence.

A government spokesperson said it could not comment on specifics for security reasons.

They said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”

This evening’s events have led to the postponement of an extraordinary meeting of Gosport Borough Council which was due to discuss a motion relating to the September 6 events.

However, Gosport Borough Council has written to the Home Office stating the area is unsuitable to use for any future potential migrant arrivals in the Solent.

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