Watch: Hundreds march in UK’s Gosport against migrant boat arrivals

Hampshire Police said both demonstrations passed without incident and no arrests were made.

Around 400 anti-migrant protesters in the United Kingdom marched through Hampshire’s Gosport on Sunday, against small boat arrivals in the town. An estimated 100 people took part in a separate counter-demonstration, organisers described as a Unity protest. BBC reported.

Hampshire Police said both demonstrations passed without incident and no arrests were made. The force estimated that up to 550 people took part across the two protests. According to the BBC, Police imposed a ban on face coverings and issued a dispersal order covering part of the town until 20:00 GMT, allowing officers to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The anti-migrant protesters marched from the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), along Haslar Road and into the town square on a designated route. The Unity protest remained stationary at the far end of the high street, with police keeping the two groups apart.

The demonstrations came amid opposition to plans to expand the Haslar facility, which is being redeveloped to accommodate up to 130 migrants who have no lawful right to remain in the UK before their deportation. The site has been closed since 2015, with redevelopment plans announced by the Conservative government in 2022. Earlier this year, the current government announced plans to add another 470 beds, beyond the original proposal for 130. Nearly 500 comments have been submitted on the planning application, with the majority opposing the expansion, BBC reported.

Gosport has witnessed several anti-migrant protests in recent weeks following the arrival of small boat migrants near Haslar Marina and Fort Blockhouse. On September 6, hundreds of protesters gathered in Portsmouth, another city in Hampshire, after around 140 migrants arrived in a single dinghy that had crossed the English Channel. Two weeks later, migrants were intercepted south of the Isle of Wight. More than 100 protesters subsequently gathered in Gosport following reports that the migrants were being brought to the town. However, the lifeboats were ultimately diverted to Dover. At the beginning of October, a third boat carrying 150 migrants left Normandy for the Hampshire coast. The migrants were brought to Fort Blockhouse, a former military site at the southern tip of the Gosport peninsula, before being taken by coach to a processing centre in Kent.