Two RNLI lifeboats transporting 140 migrants who had crossed the Channel were reportedly turned away from two major ports before eventually landing near Portsmouth, where a large crowd of masked demonstrators was waiting.
The arrivals at Eastney Landing on Sunday sparked a tense confrontation involving more than 500 men wearing balaclavas, during which police officers were hurt and vehicles were damaged.
Portsmouth City Council’s leader has strongly condemned the handling of the situation, arguing that the decision created “needless disruption” and “put lives at risk”.
New details suggest the crews aboard the two RNLI lifeboats had been told not to dock at either Southampton Port or Portsmouth Harbour, with warnings that legal action could follow if they entered.
An exchange heard on open marine VHF radio indicated that Southampton Vessel Traffic Service and the King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth refused the RNLI permission to access the ports or even their approaches.
They were told that failure to comply with the order could result in criminal prosecution.
The crews of the Bembridge and Yarmouth lifeboats decided to sail several miles further along the coast and dock instead at Eastney, where the confrontation later unfolded.
Large crowds blocked traffic along the road leading away from the port, with photos showing police carrying riot shields as they confronted the black-clad mob.
Hampshire Police Federation claimed two officers were pushed off motorbikes, while others had bricks thrown at them. The chaos came a day after masked anti-migrant protesters blocked traffic at the Port of Dover.
The migrants were brought ashore by RNLI vessels at Eastney Landing on Sunday
The landing sparked protests which saw demonstrators clash with riot police until they were dispersed in the early hours of Monday
Associated British Ports (ABP) confirmed that the RNLI lifeboats carrying the migrants were told not to come to Southampton on Sunday night.
‘ABP did receive an enquiry about landing recovered migrants at the Port of Southampton,’ a spokesman said.
‘We had to decline the enquiry as the port did not have suitable reception facilities available.
‘If there had been a safety-of-life-at-sea issue where Southampton was the closest port, or if we had received a formal direction from the authorities, then we would have played a role. Neither was the case in this situation.’
The King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth has been approached for comment.
The migrant ‘mega-dinghy’ had travelled about 70 miles from the Normandy coast, becoming the first migrant boat known to have completed such a lengthy crossing. Its route was far removed from the usual transit point between Calais and Dover.
The decision to land the migrants in Portsmouth has sparked a major row, with Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt accusing the Home Office of ‘poor judgment’.
He said: ‘The Government needs to take more action to prevent small boat crossings. Clearly people are not happy with the situation and we respect everyone’s right to protest, but it should be done peacefully and within the law.
‘We are pleased the coaches were eventually able to leave Portsmouth early this morning to take people outside Hampshire for processing in the normal way.
‘The council wasn’t asked about the decision to land the lifeboats in Portsmouth. This was entirely a decision taken by UK Border Force, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Home Office.
‘It was a completely unsuitable location to bring the boats ashore. This entire situation was avoidable and has brought needless disruption to our city. I would like to thank the emergency services for their professionalism under very challenging circumstances.
‘However, the Home Office has some serious questions to answer about its lack of planning, inconsistent decision-making and, ultimately, poor judgment. It put people at risk. This cannot happen again.’
An infrared image taken by a French lifeboat crew that shadowed but did not stop a dinghy carrying 120 migrants that was later taken to Portsmouth
Hard-Right organisation Patriot Platform – run by convicted attempted kidnapper Daniel Thomas – claimed responsibility for the demonstrations in Portsmouth and Dover.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for a ban on face coverings worn by extremists on both the left and right, describing them as a ‘menace’ designed to bully and intimidate. He insisted the ban should include all full-face coverings, including burkas.
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There are now fears more dinghies will make the long-distance sea voyage from Normandy as smugglers evolve their tactics.
A senior French interior ministry source told the Daily Mail: ‘The geographical focus of the people smugglers is definitely changing.
‘They are finding it much harder to get boats launched in the Pas-de-Calais and so are moving west to Normandy.
‘We expect far more of the mega-dinghies to appear here in the coming weeks and months.
‘The success on Sunday proved the voyage can be done.’
The Home Office confirmed 625 migrants reached Britain on Sunday, the highest daily total since July 29.
A further, as-yet-unconfirmed number, thought to be about 130, arrived in the early hours of Monday.
Occupants of the Portsmouth dinghy, including 20 women and eight ‘very young children’, refused rescue after their outboard motor broke down, according to French officials.
The 46ft mega-dinghy left an isolated beach near Jobourg, Normandy, in the ‘very early hours’ of Sunday morning, a senior search-and-rescue official said.
‘Jobourg is not patrolled by police because nobody would expect a boat to leave from such an isolated, rocky spot,’ the source said.
‘Within an hour or so, the boat was in serious difficulty and passengers on board made Mayday calls on their mobile phones.’
Lifejackets dumped by migrants by the road at Eastney Beach, where the migrants arrived, are collected by locals
Its outboard motor failed, leaving the dinghy drifting dangerously 14 miles off the French coast.
‘We asked them who wanted to be rescued, and the answer was no one,’ said the source.
‘Only a few migrants were wearing life jackets, so we handed out jackets to all of them. It seemed incomprehensible that they were risking their lives without life jackets.
‘A second outboard motor was made to work, allowing the boat to continue its voyage to Britain.’
Five French rescue boats and two helicopters were involved in an operation that monitored and supported the dinghy’s 14-hour crossing.
A spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea said migrants were not transferred to rescue vessels due to concerns over the ‘structural fragility’ of their dinghy.
The crossing was later monitored by British authorities, including a Coastguard aircraft and RNLI lifeboats, before the vessel was escorted into Eastney Marina, three miles from Portsmouth’s main harbour.
A Home Office spokesman 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 the 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 boat crossings, with the lowest number of arrivals between June and August since 2020.’
The RNLI helped more than 36,000 people across its lifeboat and lifeguard services last year, with crews launching more than 9,000 times to assist those in distress at sea.
RNLI lifeboat crews insist they have a duty to rescue anyone at sea, regardless of who they are.