Anti-migrant protesters scuffle with police after nearly 150 small boat arrivals use 'new route' to land at historic naval port

Protesters clashed with police after dozens of migrants arrived at an historic naval port via small boat using a 'new route' to evade detection.

A large dinghy was spotted heading towards Britain from near Utah Beach in Normandy on Sunday morning.

It is understood the dinghy was shadowed by French coastguard and rescue vessels as it made its way to the UK.

The Home Office said 149 migrants were believed to be on board and will taken to Kent to undergo processing.

Around 300 protesters gathered near Haslar Marina in Gosport where a number of migrants were seen arriving, having been transported aboard two RNLI boats late on Sunday evening.

Flares were set off and there were scuffles with police as demonstrators shouted 'send them back' and 'you're not welcome'.

Toby, a 26-year-old chef who lives nearby, said he had come down to the protest after 'seeing it on Twitter'.

'I hadn’t been to the last ones. There are a lot of people that take it too far, but how can you trust the police when they’re doing this?

'They’re hiding the entire process from us because they know it’s wrong. You see all these people in France and they’ve just been let in.

Anti-migrant protesters gathered in Gosport. Flares were set off and there were scuffles with police

Dozens of protesters turned out to the demonstration waving flags which said 'stop the boatss

Protesters clashed with police after the illlegal migrants arrived on the Hampshire coast via small boat

A man waves a Union Jack amid clashes with police over the arrival of migrants in Gosport, Hampshire

Red flares were also set off during the evening amid scuffles between protesters and police in Gosport

Protesters sit cross-legged on the floor during a demonstration in Gosport protesting the arrival of small boats

An RNLI boat transported the migrants to shore who had reportedly made the stretch of journey from Normandy in France

'We’ve seen what they’re capable of. It’s affecting the whole country but Gosport is getting the worst of it,' he said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it had deployed officers to Gosport to 'support our partners in the event of an emergency at sea'.

Ambulances and coaches were spotted in the area.

The force imposed conditions under the Public Order Act as well as powers prohibiting the wearing of face coverings.

A Government spokesman said: 'The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border. We have established contingency plans to make sure we can securely disembark, check and process all small boat arrivals.

'Migrants will be transported to short term holding facilities in Kent where they will be processed as normal and undergo stringent health, security and biometric checks.'

Reform UK Hampshire councillor George Madgwick posted images appearing to show police officers and coaches in the Fareham area.

He claimed they were in the area ready for 'a small boat due to land locally'.

The latest crossing comes just days after a similar operation caused tension in nearby Gosport when hundreds of protesters gathered over reports that a migrant boat was due to arrive there.

That dinghy, which had travelled from Normandy, eventually arrived in Dover after spending more than 30 hours at sea.

The 51 people on board had reportedly refused assistance from the French coastguard before British rescue vessels intervened.

The incident sparked a major police operation in Gosport, with six people arrested as officers dealt with protesters.

Three people were subsequently charged over offences including assaults on emergency workers.

Departures from further west along the French coast have been relatively unusual in recent years, but there have now been three such crossings in the space of a month.

The longer journeys mean boats can spend many hours at sea before reaching British waters, while their eventual landing point can be difficult to predict.

The Government has stressed that Border Security Command monitors the Channel around the clock and that those arriving by small boat are subject to checks and processing.

Police are preparing for the possible arrival of another migrant dinghy on the south coast after a small boat was spotted making its way across the English Channel from France

The movement of the boat has prompted preparations in Hampshire, with local officers understood to be ready to respond if it reaches the coast

A Government spokesman said: 'The Border Security Command works around the clock to monitor the Channel and protect our border. It is vital we continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.'

Official figures show the number of small boat arrivals remains significantly lower than at the same point last year, despite continued crossings.

The Home Office recorded 526 arrivals on September 27 and a further 61 on September 29, with no arrivals recorded on several other days in the final week of September.

The provisional total for Channel crossings this year is 19,451, according to figures cited by officials, down 43 per cent on this point last year and 23 per cent below the figure at the same stage in 2024.

The latest Border Security Command annual report said small boat crossings had begun to fall but remained a 'persistent and adaptive threat', warning that organised crime groups could change their tactics and seek to increase journeys when conditions were favourable.

The Government has also been working with France to prevent departures, with French authorities reporting hundreds of small boat crossing attempts stopped under the latest UK-France arrangements.