Protesters scuffle with police as migrants brought ashore on south coast

Police and demonstrators during the protest in Gosport on Sunday evening Around 150 anti-migrant demonstrators gathered in a south coast town to stop a group of migrants, who had crossed the English Channel in a small boat, being brought ashore . Some flares were set off and there were a few scuffles with police during the stand-off at a marina in Gosport, Hampshire, that lasted into the early hours of Monday morning. The Home Office said 149 migrants picked up in a mid-Channel rescue operation a French vessel. They were taken a processing centre in Kent. It is the second known landing of large numbers of migrants this far west along the south coast in recent years. A police cordon was in place on Haslar Road in Gosport, where the atmosphere at the protest mostly remained peaceful. Some protesters stopped police vans from advancing "shame on you" and "deport the lot". Hampshire Police said it deployed officers to "support our partners in the event of an emergency at sea". The force imposed conditions under the Public Order Act as well as powers prohibiting the wearing of face coverings. The migrants were brought into Gosport onboard an RNLI boat A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Border Security Command works around the clock to monitor the Channel and protect our border." They added it was "vital we continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival". The migrant dinghy appeared to have set off from near Utah Beach in Normandy on Sunday morning, according to ship tracking data. It is the third crossing in a month. So far this year 19,451 people are recorded as having crossed the Channel in small boats. That number is 43% lower than this time last year and 23% below the figure at this stage in 2024. Last month, more than 100 migrants landed at Eastney in Portsmouth, leading to more scuffles between police and demonstrators. The 51 migrants were were ultimately taken to Dover by sea. How many people cross the English Channel in small boats? Between 1 January and , a total of 19,135 people crossed the English Channel . This was down by 42% on the same period the previous year. In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,335 people who arrived , according to the Home Office. Protesters gathered in Gosport on Sunday evening