Anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth turns violent, injuring police and damaging vehicles

Several police officers were injured and vehicles belonging to police, Coastguard and Border Force were damaged after an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth turned violent following the arrival of about 140 migrants by boat. Hundreds of people gathered in the English coastal city on Sunday after two RNLI boats brought migrants ashore. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said officers and other emergency service personnel were attacked during the disorder, Sky News reported. “A small number of officers were treated at the scene, but no one from any agency or the public was seriously injured,” the force said. The demonstration was brought to an end at about 4am on Monday, according to the outlet. The migrants had been travelling in a dinghy that was intercepted in the English Channel on Sunday. The boat had departed from the Jobourg area of Normandy in northern France before being met by two RNLI vessels, which took those on board to Portsmouth. The journey was believed to be among the longest undertaken by a small boat carrying migrants, with arrivals this far west on the English coast relatively uncommon. Portsmouth council leader Steve Pitt criticised the decision to use the location for the disembarkation, saying the Home Office had "serious questions to answer" over what he described as an unsuitable site that “put people at risk”. The protest came a day after a separate demonstration in Dover, where about 200 masked protesters blocked access roads to the port for several hours while chanting "Stop the boats" Kent Police said the disruption had caused significant traffic problems but confirmed that wearing a face covering was not, by itself, a criminal offence. Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Brookes said there was "no need" for people to cover their faces if they intended to protest peacefully. The Portsmouth disorder has prompted condemnation from minister Emma Reynolds, who described those involved as "thuggish".