TWO boats carrying up to 120 migrants have docked at a UK town after crossing the English Channel – as protesters chant “shame on you”.
The vessels reached UK waters in after appearing to set off from the Normandy coastline in earlier today.
A number of people were seen arriving in Gosport, having been transported aboard two boats this evening.
Around 100 protesters have gathered as some stood on the pier at Haslar Marina shouting “send them back” as the boats arrived, as well as insults and threats.
blocked off Haslar Bridge while demonstrators surrounded police vans chanting “shame on you” and “deport the lot”.
It remains unclear exactly how many migrants are on board the boats but French media report there are as many as 120.
Cllr George Madgwick, leader of in Hampshire, posted a video appearing to show an RNLI lifeboat carrying migrants arriving to the UK.
Protesters can be heard shouting at the vessel as it pulled into Harbour earlier this evening.
Authorities had been preparing for the arrival on the south-coast as the boat was shadowed by the French coastguard.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it had deployed officers to Gosport to “support our partners in the event of an emergency at sea”.
The force has imposed conditions under the Public Order Act as well as powers prohibiting the wearing of face coverings.
Ambulance crews are also in attendance “as a precaution in support of the police facilitating the protest” with coaches also reportedly in the area.
Earlier this evening, Conservative MP for Gosport called on the Home Secretary to divert any illegal vessels “directly to Dover by water”.
“The proved just two weeks ago that this can be done,” she said.
“Gosport is not a safe or suitable location to disembark small boats. Our network is extremely constrained, we have no acute hospital, and our emergency services are already under pressure.”
Dinenage added she had contacted a Home Office minister earlier today but had received “no reply or meaningful information about where the boat is going”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to monitor the Channel and protect our border.
“It is vital we continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
This is the third crossing from in the space of the last month – which has led to a series of protests and arrests.
There were similar scenes last month when protesters gathered in the area expecting migrants to arrive on a dinghy, but they were ultimately taken to Dover by sea.
Departures so far west have been rare in recent years but it is the third such crossing in the space of a month.
Last month, British rescue boats collected the passengers of a migrant dinghy which had spent around 30 hours at sea after setting off from Normandy.
The 51 migrants, who refused help from the French coastguard, arrived in Dover after being transferred to Border Security Command boats.
It was expected the migrants would be taken to Gosport, with hundreds of protesters gathering after coaches and ambulances were spotted in the area.
Six people were arrested by officers during the evening.
The provisional total for Channel crossings this year is 19,451.
This is down 43% on this time last year and 23% below the figure at this stage in 2024.
