There has been major disruption at the port of Dover due to a large group of “intimidating” masked demonstrators blocking roads and access to the port.
Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocked roads and were heard chanting “stop the boats”.
Traffic was stopped from going in and out of the port, with the government saying it condemned “the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused”.
A group was later seen marching through the town chanting “whose streets? our streets!” and “stop the boats” as dozens of police officers followed.
The incident caused traffic in and out of the port to build up on the A20, with National Highways reporting four miles of congestion. No arrests were made.
Steve and Maureen Lightwood, who live near Leeds in West Yorkshire, had travelled to Folkestone to attend a local rock festival. The retired couple took the bus to Dover on Saturday morning for a day trip, but found themselves stuck in traffic near the port town as protesters made their way to the railway station.
Ms Lightwood, 78, said: “It’s scary. As the police were herding down the road, I could hear them shouting.”
Nigel Farage called the protest “wrong at every level”, telling broadcasters at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham: “You should not be allowed to be masked up, balaclaved up, and go out and protest on the streets of our country.”
Dover MP Mike Tapp said he was “fed up with idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption”.
In a statement on X (Twitter) at 9am on Saturday, the port said an “ongoing public order incident” was affecting all routes in and out of the port and the town. Activists could be seen marching along the A-road, chanting: “England till I die.”
The demonstrators dispersed on Saturday afternoon and holiday-makers access to the port was restored.
In a post on social media, far-right activist Tommy Robinson suggested Saturday’s protests in Dover were part of a coordinated plan.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, wrote on X: “Simultaneously at different locations across Dover, patriots have mobilised to close down the port.” He later congratulated “DT”.
Robinson associate Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, posted video footage from the protest on Instagram on Saturday, saying: “It’s time! Protect our country! And more importantly our women and children! This is our warning!”
Mr Thomas has recently founded an anti-migrant network called the “Patriot Platform”, which says it is recruiting “people prepared to act” to “protect the future” of Britain.
He has been hosting meetings around the country, posting videos in recent days from Leicester, Essex and Kent. Five days ago, Mr Thomas promised that “soon they are going to hear us, and see us, and fear us”.
On Saturday, he was posting footage from the masked protest but did not claim to have organised it. Police have not yet said who organised the protest.
Hope Not Hate said the demonstration showed a growing trend of “anti-migrant vigilantism coming to a head in the public eye”.
The group wrote: “Today, we could see Patriot Platform for what it is: a network of men happy to intimidate and inconvenience an entire town for what was effectively a publicity stunt.”
Mr Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover & Deal, told the Press Association that “there’s no way that wasn’t coordinated”, adding: “It’s coordinated in the fact that they’ve all arrived at the same place at the same time, wearing the same clothes.”
He said that “in this instance, it would appear that the police didn’t know about it, and the resources were pretty thin on the ground”.
He added: “I’m all for our freedoms to protest, but when you’re blocking roads, firstly you’re causing disruption that’s not fair on residents, so it’s against the law.
“But also this intimidating fashion of balaclavas: you wear balaclavas if you’re cold, or if you’re looking to intimidate, or you’ve got something to hide.”
He added: “It has gone beyond. But luckily, it’s dispersed now, and we can get about our lives as normal in the constituency.”
Councillor Chris Vinson, leader of the Conservative group and member for Walmer on Dover District Council, said: “Overnight, clearly what appears to be several hundred masked men wearing black clothing and balaclavas seem to have coordinated and loaded into rental vans and then descended on roads leading in and out of Dover with the intent to block them, and that’s what they’ve successfully done, and it’s brought the town to a standstill.
“There are stacks of people who are stuck in their cars or in their workplaces as a result.”
He added: “I’m not aware that there’s been any violence, although clearly, having the path of your vehicle blocked by men wearing black paramilitary gear and balaclavas is extremely intimidating, especially when it’s not clear why they’re there and the police weren’t aware, and so haven’t been able to warn people in advance and make sure that they are made to feel safe.
“I know people who have worked night shifts in the port who are being prevented from leaving for fears for their safety.
“[There are] women who are in cars feeling intimidated, people stuck in traffic – who obviously are without toilet facilities – [and] queues way back on the A20 and the other approach roads into Dover.”
In an update on X on Saturday afternoon, Kent Police confirmed no arrests had been made during the demonstration.
The force said: “Kent Police responded to a spontaneous protest in Dover during the morning of Saturday 5 September.
“No arrests were made. Traffic is flowing normally, and all involved had dispersed by midday.”
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