Were the Dover and Portsmouth protests linked?published at 10:49 BST

10:49 BST

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

This weekend saw two anti-migrant protests.

The men in balaclavas in Dover, and the crowd trying to block the migrant coaches in Portsmouth - but how are they linked?

The answer is one man - Danny Thomas, more often known as Danny Tommo - and some apparently poor decision-making by Border Force officials.

Danny Tommo had organised the Dover protest, where men in black clothing and balaclavas blocked the main roads near the Port of Dover for several hours.

It seems to have been well-planned in advance, after weeks of plotting over the summer. Kent Police referred to it as a "spontaneous protest".

On Sunday, when Border Force was deciding where to ask the RNLI to being ashore a boatful of migrants the decision was made to bring them to the Eastney landing stage - where the passenger ferry goes from Portsmouth to Hayling Island.

Danny Tommo comes from Hayling Island.

Whether this decision was made through ignorance or incompetence, it made it very easy for him to mobilise his local support last night using social media.

Image source, Reuters

Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson says it is "no wonder" people are taking to the streets to vent their anger at the arrival of people he says "have no right to be in this country".

Anderson writes on X that he fully supports "British people who turn up in huge numbers" to peacefully protest, but says Reform's policy is to ban all face coverings in public - including balaclavas and those worn for religious reasons.

At the Dover protest on Saturday, hundreds of protesters blocked roads while wearing all black outfits with their faces covered.

He adds that Reform condemns "attacks on our police" - and tells those looking to protest that they have his support if they "do it the right way".

The party's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf, also writing on X, says the people of Portsmouth have "every right to be scared and angry".

He adds that under Reform policy, marines would have orders to ensure "not a single illegal vessel makes it to our shores" with all illegal migrants "detained and deported".

Image source, Ella Prichard

Portsmouth resident Ella Prichard says she saw the Portsmouth protest last night when she went out to get a takeaway.

She tells BBC Radio Solent it was "an absolutely surreal shock" to see what was happening.

"Somewhere that is a place that we go on a daily basis - suddenly becoming infested with police, riot vans, coaches - it is not equipped for that sort of level of intrusion.

"It was an absolute shock and a real worry."

But, she describes the protest as a "huge display of how people feel about this sort of thing possibly becoming a regular occurrence".

Thousands of migrants are still crossing the English Channel by small boat each year - but the total number has dropped, according to Home Office data.

Between 1 January and 5 September 2026, a total of 16,513 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France - 43% lower than the same period the previous year.

It is also lower than at this point of any of the past four years.

Small boat crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020 - and account for 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 and June 2026.

When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of arriving by small boats is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.

Jamie Morris
Reporting from Portsmouth

There are still a few people walking around here on Ferry Road, in Portsmouth.

Some are dog walkers, some are journalists, others are people coming to look at the aftermath of last night's protest.

This Home Office vehicle appears to have had its window smashed.

Patrick Hughes
Reporting from Portsmouth

It's quiet this morning across the water from Eastney Landing ferry port, in Portsmouth, where the protest occurred last night.

All you can hear is the odd snippet of birdsong and the odd car passing by.

The area where the coaches where sitting last night is now empty, and it's hard to imagine what this place would have looked just a few hours ago.

The only signs that something unusual happened here last night are the handful of police cars parked around the area, and one marked Home Office vehicle parked outside of a local angling club.

More now from Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast about the protests in Portsmouth, Jones says that "people have a right to peaceful protest" and that was "largely" the case last night.

Pushed on whether she agrees with the government's description of the demonstration as "thuggish", Jones says: "For a small proportion of the people that were protesting last night, yes I would agree with the government's comments there.

"There were crimes committed and they will now be investigated and I would not be surprised if there are arrests that come off the back of the footage that was captured as evidence last night."

However, she says "hundreds" were acting lawfully.

Jones - a Conservative politician - calls the protest a "wake-up call to the government... that the British people are fed up with the lack of control of our borders".

Minister Emma Reynolds says she agrees with the "right to peaceful protest" - but the protest in Portsmouth on Sunday evening "obviously crosses a line".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Reynolds condemns what she describes as "thuggish" and "intimidating" behaviour - similar language was used by a government spokesperson last night.

"Obviously the British people do have legitimate concerns about immigration, but people should not express those concerns in intimidating ways in the way we saw in Portsmouth last night," she says.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Small boats protests - like the ones in Dover and Portsmouth - are creating a "climate of fear", according to the founder of campaign group Hope Not Hate.

Nick Lowles tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "To have 300, 400 people with balaclavas marching down the streets, stopping traffic, it is not just good enough."

He says police forces "need to get a grip".

Lowles says he understands some people are concerned about migration and its impact on "already stretched communities", but says "we’ve got the ballot box, we’ve got different ways to register our protest".

He adds: “The images we saw over the weekend, just like the images we saw earlier this year, last year, and in 2024, is creating a climate of fear.

"Fear among migrants and immigrants, fear among people of colour, fear amongst many people... I think the government needs to be far more robust in standing up against this."

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

We're not expecting any more Channel crossings today - the weather has turned.

Two boats made it to Dover this morning with about 140 people on board. A third crossing attempt failed after the engine broke down.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

Normally when migrants are picked up in the Channel by Border Force or the RNLI, they are taken straight to Dover for initial health and identity checks.

Yesterday though was different.

The dinghy carrying around 140 migrants had set off so far along the coast from Calais that it was met by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight.

Discussions would have then taken place between Border Force and the Coastguard about where best to land the people - who had already been at sea for around 10 hours.

A trip to Dover would have meant another four to five hours on the water. It would also have taken the two lifeboats away from the area they normally cover.

A decision was taken to head to Portsmouth - but it is not geared up for migrant arrivals, seen by the makeshift tents that were quickly erected.

As word spread about what was happening, the protesters quickly gathered, leading to a night of tension.

Sunday night's protest in Portsmouth comes after the Port of Dover was brought to a standstill on Saturday, when hundreds of masked demonstrators blocked roads in protest against small boat crossings.

They were dressed all in black and wearing face coverings - some could be heard chanting "whose streets" and "stop the boats".

The group were blocking traffic in and out of the port. By about 09:00 BST, National Highways reported that there was four miles (6.4km) of congestion, with queues of up to 45 minutes. Ferry operators were also reporting disruption.

Shortly after midday, the port said roads were "free flowing" after protesters were escorted to the local train station by police - Kent Police called it a "spontaneous protest" and said no arrests had been made.

Local Labour MP Mike Tapp told the BBC that there is "nothing wrong with protest" but claimed the group had been "extremely intimidating" to local residents.

Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills told the BBC the police had been slow to react to an "exceptionally well organised" protest - and that demonstrators "caught several agencies on the hoof".

Kent Police hasn't commented, but cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said officers "did deal with it swiftly".

Portsmouth resident Les Pearce tells BBC Radio Solent he was "one of the first" people who gathered in the city last night to demonstrate against small boat arrivals.

He says he didn't realise the protest was going to be as big as it was - "but I'm glad it was, we all stood together".

Pearce adds that he was there for around five or six hours and "didn't see any violence whatsoever".

Asked about the people who had attended, Pearce says he thinks most were from Portsmouth, and that he hadn't realised anyone else had come down.

"People [are] absolutely fed up with these boats coming over. It’s never been done before in Portsmouth and we don’t want it," the 65-year-old says.

He adds that he was “very surprised” a small boat had landed in Portsmouth, “that’s why I went down there.. we can’t put up with this”.

Jamie Morris
Reporting from Portsmouth

Ferry Road this morning is calm, still, and with very little going on.

It's hard to believe just a few hours ago hundreds of protesters were gathered here attempting to stop coastguard boats carrying migrants from docking - and then again, tying to stop the buses carrying them from leaving.

We understand this protest continued into the early hours, before the crowds dispersed.

I just spoke to two men walking by who said they had driven from "up north" last night to join protesters but broke down on the way.

From where I’m standing on the edge of the marina, a police van has just driven past leaving the area. In the distance it looks as though one police car remains.

The Conservative police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and Isle of Wight says Portsmouth is "not set up" for the processing of migrants via small boats following yesterday's dinghy arrival.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Donna Jones says: "My big concern now is that Portsmouth does not become a destination of choice for people traffickers."

By contrast, she says Dover has had a lot of government investment in a holding and processing centre, and Border Force.

Asked whether she's saying she doesn't want a processing hub set up in Portsmouth in case it risks attracting people, she responds "yes I am absolutely saying that".

"We have hundreds of miles of coastline across southern England," Jones continues. "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."

Calling the response to last night's protest a "significant operation", Jones says a number of officers were involved in policing the "largely peaceful" demonstration which took them from other policing jobs.

"This is really putting a lot of pressure on UK policing - that is my concern," she says.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

The government has condemned the "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" of protesters in Portsmouth last night.

“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder," a spokesperson says, adding: “We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.”

Conservative MP for nearby Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, says it is "extremely concerning" to see "an illegal migrant crossing this far west".

A group of five local Labour MPs released a statement thanking HM Coastguard and RNLI crews for their "continued dedication to rescuing all in peril on the sea".

"This Labour Government is cracking down on the evil, criminal smuggler gangs... but we’re not complacent. We still have an enormous job ahead of us," the statement issued by Satvir Kaur, Amanda Martin, Stephen Morgan, Darren Paffey and Richard Quigley reads.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage writes in a post on X: "This week Andy Burnham struck an agreement for 45 more officers on French beaches... This is a joke. Only Reform will send the boats back."

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Sunday’s protest in Portsmouth followed the arrival of a small boat, carrying 140 migrants, in the city.

The dinghy was launched in the Bay of the Seine, France – around 170 miles (273km) from Calais where such boats are typically launched.

This means the boat's journey to UK shores was significantly longer.

It was shadowed for around 10 hours by French rescue boats, but the French coastguard said it was not safe to attempt to stop the dinghy on water.

It reached UK waters at lunchtime on Sunday, at which point those on board were met by lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

It’s thought more than 500 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday. Figures will be confirmed later by the Home Office.

A further two boats carrying around 140 people have attempted the crossing in the early hours of this morning.

The weather now worsens in the Channel for several days - which will be a relief for the authorities following a weekend of anti-migrant protests.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Police carrying riot shields faced off with hundreds of protesters in Portsmouth on Sunday, in the area surrounding Portsmouth’s Eastney Landing ferry port.

They blocked roads to prevent 140 migrants, that had arrived in a single dinghy that had crossed the English Channel, from leaving the city.

The dinghy, launched from the Bay of the Seine in northern France was met by two UK lifeboats after entering UK waters at about lunchtime.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said it had deployed lifeboats, a helicopter and a plane to respond to reports of the small boat heading towards the UK - adding that the Border Force, Hampshire Police and ambulance crews also attended.

The group of protesters in Portsmouth said they were attempting to prevent the migrants being transported to the Manston processing centre in Kent.

A dispersal order was put in place by Hampshire Police, with the force warning anyone failing to avoid the area could be arrested.

Image source, PA Media

Two large protests caused significant disruption in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend as hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate against migrants arriving by small boats.

The first took place in Dover on Saturday morning and saw protesters dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocking traffic from coming in and out of the port.

Chants of “stop the boats” could be heard amongst the crowd.

Kent Police later described the protest as “spontaneous” but the force has since faced questions as to why they didn’t know about it in advance.

On Sunday night, hundreds protested in a similar manner in Portsmouth after 140 migrants travelled across the English Channel in a single dinghy, which was escorted to shore by lifeboats once in UK waters.

Protesters said they were trying to stop authorities transporting the migrants to the Manston processing centre in Kent.

Earlier that day, the Home Office had stressed the government was “bearing down” on small boat crossings and “restoring control at our border”.

We’ll be hearing more on this story on this morning – including from affected local authorities.