England’s south coast is “not set up” for the arrival of migrants if people traffickers shift their routes further west, a police and crime commissioner has warned.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said the government will need to adapt if Dover is no longer the destination of choice after the arrival of about 140 migrants in Portsmouth sparked overnight protests.
Masked demonstrators blocked the road leading away from the RNLI Portsmouth Lifeboat Station at Eastney Marina.
The landing site the migrants were taken to by the RNLI is on a narrow shingle bank with only one road leading towards the city.
All of those brought ashore were taken to a location for processing in the usual way, it is understood, likely to be the Manston arrivals and processing centre in Kent.
Ms Jones warned that places such as Portsmouth are “not set up” for the arrival of migrants.
“We have hundreds of miles of coastline across southern England and if Dover is no longer the destination of choice, and instead there is going to be a spread across southern England, this is a significant issue for the government,” she told the BBC’s Today programme.
“My concern now, as a police and crime commissioner, is that we don’t have this repeated.”
It is understood that the boat was rescued by lifeboats from the Isle of Wight when it reached UK waters and taken to Portsmouth. The Independent understands the government currently has no evidence to suggest a change in people smuggler tactics.
However, the latest arrivals have still sparked alarm, with Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East Joe Robertson saying: “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.”
The dinghy is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat, and landings as far west as Hampshire are rare.
The protesters said they were determined to prevent authorities from transporting the migrants away.
Livestreaming while standing in the sea at Eastney beach, Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo – an associate of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson – said: “Roads are all blocked, they are never going to be able to leave here.”
He said: “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.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we saw in Portsmouth last night.
“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 safely managed this situation.
“This government is doing the hard and necessary work of bearing down on small boats crossings, with the lowest number of June to August arrivals since 2020.”
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.”
Large crowds of masked, black-clad men blocked road access to the Port of Dover on Saturday, in scenes which have been condemned by politicians.
The Port of Dover rally was criticised by politicians from all parties, with questions expected to be raised on Monday over whether Kent Police were prepared for it, and there could be similar criticism of Hampshire Police.
The demonstrations brought traffic on routes to the UK’s busiest international ferry and passenger port to a halt, delaying some ferry services and blocking major roads, but there were no arrests.
