Protesters clash with riot police in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued

Protesters clash with riot police in Portsmouth after small boat of migrants rescued A huge emergency response was prompted as the small boat approached the shore Hundreds of protestors clashed with riot police in Portsmouth after a small boat thought to be transporting asylum seekers arrived at the coast. It is understood around 140 migrants in a single dinghy were rescued in the English Channel on Sunday. The people on board the inflatable vessel launched from the Normandy coast overnight before getting into difficulty in UK waters. They called for help and were later picked up by two RNLI lifeboats, according to the French coastguard. The occupants of the boat were safely brought to shore in the maritime city where it is understood they will be processed as is routine for arrivals. Videos uploaded on social media showed groups of people being taken to shore on lifeboats and escorted to parked coaches. Crowds of an estimated 500 protestors gathered, and were led by Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo. In a livestream filmed while standing in the sea at Eastney beach the associate of ring-wing activist Tommy Robinson – said: “Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here.” He added: “It was only yesterday (at the protests in Dover) when we warned them that we will not accept this any more, and that this is no longer an option to tell us that the boat numbers are down. “This isn’t about the numbers being down… this is about understanding that this has to come to an end now.” At around 3am police issued a Section 14 order and the protestors dispersed from the dock after blocking roads for hours. Videos shared online show riot police armed with protective shields clashing with the protestors. Early on Monday morning, a government spokesperson said: “We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we are seeing tonight. “The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder. “We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.” The protest came the day after a 'stop the boats' migrant protest at the Port of Dover on Saturday. Conservative MP for MP for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, posted: “Extremely concerning to see an illegal migrant crossing this far west. “We don’t know if this migrant boat was headed for the Isle of Wight but I’ll be contacting the Home Office first thing. We need to know exactly what happened and if new routes are being used for mega-dinghies by people smugglers.” A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: “In response to a report on September 6 of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, HM Coastguard sent lifeboats, an HM Coastguard helicopter, an HM Coastguard aeroplane and HM Coastguard Rescue Teams. “Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and South Central Ambulance Service were also sent.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election. “We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020. “But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”