Far-right protesters descend on Portsmouth after small boat arrival

Far-right activists descended on Portsmouth after a small boat carrying 140 asylum seekers was intercepted near the city’s coast. An influencer livestreamed an appeal for men to travel to the port and block coaches carrying the arrivals from leaving.

The incident prompted a major maritime response, with a helicopter, an aeroplane and lifeboats sent to the scene. The boat is thought to be the first such large vessel carrying asylum seekers to have been brought to Portsmouth.

The occupants were taken ashore in the maritime city and placed on coaches bound for Manston, outside Ramsgate in Kent, where arrivals from small boats are processed.