Gosport migrant protest: Boat containing around 50 migrants arrives in Dover after aborted Solent landing
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Large numbers of police units were deployed to the Solent before the migrant boat was turned around
A boat containing 51 migrants who refused help from the French coastguard arrived in Dover last night after an aborted landing in Gosport.
British rescue boats were sent to collect the passengers of a migrant dinghy on Tuesday and the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said they would be transferred to Border Security Command.
A Government spokesperson 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.”
The French coastguard earlier said around 60 migrants on a small boat spent more than 33 hours at sea “in precarious conditions” and refused help as they were “determined to take all risks to reach the United Kingdom”. The boat, which was shadowed by a French coastguard vessel, left the Normandy coast on Monday morning.
It was expected the migrants would be taken to Gosport on Tuesday. Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage said the Home Office had told her it was “increasingly likely that a small boat will need to be disembarked in the local area in the coming hours”.
The vessel carrying the migrants headed east along the coast, arriving in Dover after 12.30am on Wednesday morning. Migrants could later be seen disembarking wearing orange life jackets and carrying personal belongings. Around a dozen protesters were spotted in the area, with local police having blocked off a nearby road.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said six people were arrested in Gosport on Tuesday evening after anti-migrant protesters “became hostile towards officers”. A large crowd of anti-migrant protesters had gathered near the marina in Gosport following the initial reports that the migrants were en route.
A number of men wearing black, several with face coverings, were at the front of the protest where the crowd chanted “send them back”. At around 8.30pm on Tuesday, the line of black-clad demonstrators left the Gosport protest at the same time.
In a statement, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “Following news that the vessel would be docking elsewhere in the country, police were met with a group of people who remained in Gosport, some of whom became hostile towards officers.
“As a result, six people were arrested for offences including careless driving, assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated trespass. They remain in custody at this time and our enquiries into these incidents continue.”
The force added: “We are also aware of a video circulating online relating to damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on the afternoon of 22 September, and we are conducting enquiries into the matter.”
The migrant dinghy appeared to have set off from close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux. Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, shared a YouTube livestream of the boat from the Channel.
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.
UK authorities are understood to have plans to deal with small boat arrivals further along the coast. A Government spokesperson 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.”
Departures as far west as Normandy are rare. Earlier this month, a dinghy was met by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight having set off from the Cherbourg area, triggering protests in Portsmouth. It is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat in the Channel.
Officials said at the time they believed it was a one-off rather than a sign of new tactics. Earlier on Tuesday, a minister insisted the UK’s borders are secure after a migrant boat reached the Kent coast without being intercepted.
Five people were detained and passed to Border Security Command after the dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday – the first undetected landing for a year. Defence minister Luke Pollard dismissed suggestions the Government had lost control of the border.
“Our borders are secure, but we want to make them stronger,” he told LBC Radio. Asked how the boat slipped through, Mr Pollard said a Home Office investigation was under way to determine what had happened, without going into detail.
The thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats. No small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort have been officially recorded since September 6 last year.
Some 17,480 migrants have arrived after crossing the Channel by boat so far this year, including 5,011 since Andy Burnham became prime minister. The total so far for 2026 is down 46 per cent on the same point last year.