Summary

  • The government condemns "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" by hundreds of people protesting against small boat arrivals in Portsmouth last night

  • Crowds blocked roads after 140 migrants were brought to shore in Hampshire - much further west than where small boats usually arrive

  • A government spokesman says: "The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder"

  • The Portsmouth protests followed a similar protest in Dover on Saturday, which led to hours of disruption for travellers

  • It's thought more than 500 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday - figures will be confirmed later by the Home Office

Watch: Protesters block roads in Portsmouth on Sunday night

Live Reporting

Edited by Alex Smith and Owen Amos

  1. Two small boat protests cause disruption on the south coast

    Police officers form a barricade to stop demonstrators progressingPA Media

    Police officers at the scene of one of the protests - near Eastney Beach, Portsmouth - on Sunday night

    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.