First person arrested over anti-migrant chaos in Portsmouth at weekend

Hampshire Police have arrested a 42-year-old man in connection with the anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth last weekend.

He is the first person to be arrested in connection with the protests.

The man, from Paulsgrove, Hants, was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and assaulting a constable in the execution of their duty, Hampshire Police said on Friday.

He remains in custody.

Police said the man was the first of “several anticipated arrests” after a huge crowd protested the arrival of about 140 migrants in Portsmouth.

The migrants, who had been heading towards the Hampshire coast on a small boat, were intercepted and brought ashore.

They were then taken to Manston immigration centre in Kent for processing.

Demonstrators blocked roads for hours on Sunday and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant protest of the weekend.

Video footage showed protesters facing up to police and shouting “stop the boats” on Sunday evening.

Official vehicles were damaged and a small number of police officers were injured at the scene, Hampshire Police said.

Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson said: “We have been consistently clear that violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest and we will investigate incidents like this thoroughly and take robust action against those responsible.

“Clearly events on Sunday evening were not peaceful protest, rather violent public disorder, and this will not be tolerated as we work to keep our wider communities in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight safe.”

RNLI volunteer dubbed a ‘traitor’ after chaos

An RNLI volunteer who was wrongly accused of helping small boat migrants come to shore in Portsmouth issued a message for those attacking him online on Thursday: “I’m not a traitor”.

Neil was captured on film by protesters near Portsmouth Harbour on Sunday night.

An image of the volunteer from the footage was then shared on social media with some users calling him a “traitor”, and one accusing him of “putting women and children at risk”.

Disturbingly, one post claimed to have his full name.

On Thursday, Sussex Police said an investigation had been launched with officers beginning to review abusive social media content directed at volunteers.

Neil, who has been an RNLI volunteer for more than a decade, said that his work to help those at sea would continue, despite the abuse.

He said: “I’ll be back on the boat when the pager goes off. It’d be nice for those people who called me a traitor to know I’m not a traitor. I’m just a volunteer crew.”

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