A major police investigation has been launched after officers were injured and emergency vehicles damaged during an all-night anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth.
Hundreds of demonstrators descended on the Hampshire coast after around 140 migrants were brought ashore following the extraordinary arrival of a packed “mega-dinghy” from France.
The confrontation lasted until the early hours of Monday morning, with protesters blocking roads and vowing to remain in place as authorities attempted to move those who had arrived away from the city.
Police said several officers required treatment for injuries and a number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the standoff.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has now launched an investigation to identify those responsible.
A force spokesman said: “A number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the standoff and a handful of police officers were treated at the scene for injuries, none of which were serious.
“Violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest.”
Police said detectives would now examine footage from the night to identify anyone responsible for assaults, criminal damage or other offences.
Breaking🇬🇧🔥: "Riot Police move into Portsmouth to ensure the safety and protection of the hordes of illegal unfettered fighting aged men heading to any and every location in the UK". pic.twitter.com/jEO7SqsENn
— HIN News🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@HerdImmunity12) September 6, 2026
The spokesman added that an investigation had been launched “to identify offenders responsible for any assaults to officers, criminal damage to vehicles or other criminal offences”.
Border Force has since confirmed that those who arrived on the boat have been transported outside Hampshire for processing.
The spokesman said: “We can also confirm that Border Force has advised us that individuals from the boat have been transported outside of Hampshire for processing as part of the normal process after they were safely disembarked.”
The disorder marked the second major anti-migrant protest of the weekend, following similar scenes in Dover on Saturday.
Around 200 people are believed to have blocked roads around the Eastney Landing area for hours, with the demonstration continuing into the early hours.
Police eventually imposed a dispersal order and warned protesters they faced arrest if they refused to leave.
Donna Jones, the Conservative Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner, described the events as a “wake-up call” for the Government.
She said the protest had been “largely peaceful”, despite acknowledging that criminal offences had been committed.
Asked whether she agreed with the Government’s description of protesters as “thuggish”, Ms Jones said: “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.”
🚨BREAKING: OLD MAN ARRESTED AT PORTSMOUTH PROTEST
Woman screams in Police Officers face
"YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES"
Claims the Police kicked him while he was on the floor
[@WesleyWinterYT ] pic.twitter.com/fyB2kcXTII
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) September 6, 2026
But she added that hundreds of people had protested lawfully.
Ms Jones said the scenes should serve as a warning to ministers “that the British people are fed up with the lack of control of our borders”.
The scale and location of the arrival has raised fresh questions about whether people smugglers are expanding their operations beyond the traditional crossing routes between northern France and Kent.
The vessel is understood to have set off from the Baie de Seine in Normandy, around 180 miles by road from Calais.
The journey represented one of the most unusual small-boat routes yet seen and suggested that smugglers may be seeking alternative launch points along the French coast.
French authorities reportedly shadowed the vessel for around 10 hours but did not intervene, judging the boat too dangerous to intercept because of the number of people on board.
British emergency services subsequently took over the operation.
Lifeboats, supported by a helicopter and an aircraft, were deployed before those on board were brought to Portsmouth.
The choice of landing point rapidly became a flashpoint.
Eastney is a narrow stretch of shingle coastline with limited access, leaving authorities with a single main route through which to move emergency vehicles, coaches and those brought ashore.
As news of the arrival spread across social media, demonstrators began gathering on the beach.
Dozens ran across the shingle and into the sea as the migrants were brought towards land, chanting “stop the boats” and “enough is enough”.
Britain is on the edge of serious civil disturbance.
The scenes at Portsmouth are proof that the government isn’t taking this invasion seriously.
Reform UK has a plan to stop the boats within the first 100 Days of government. We need a general election now. pic.twitter.com/21Hb9DOHc2
— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) September 7, 2026
The demonstration continued for at least five hours, with protesters remaining on the beach and in surrounding roads until police finally imposed the dispersal order.
By the time the confrontation ended, officers had been injured, emergency vehicles had been damaged and a major criminal investigation was under way.
The unprecedented arrival in Portsmouth has now intensified fears that Britain’s small-boat crisis could be spreading far beyond the Dover Strait.
For ministers already under pressure over the failure to stop Channel crossings, the events on the south coast represent an alarming new development: migrant boats are no longer simply a problem arriving on Kent’s beaches.
Now they are turning up hundreds of miles along Britain’s coastline — and the public reaction is following them.
Leave a Comment