/scanPolitics & policy
Masked port protests: Reform said 'disgusting', then 'genuine'
Masked men blocked Dover on Saturday and faced police in Portsmouth on Sunday. What happened, and what Reform said.
- Observed threads
- 5
- Source clusters
- 5
- Observed
- Updated
What happened
Saturday: hundreds of masked men blocked roads to Dover port, no arrests. Sunday: a dinghy with 120 to 140 people landed at Portsmouth; about 200 protesters faced police overnight, officers hurt, vehicles damaged, a dispersal order.
Who organised it
Patriot Platform, led by Daniel Thomas, a Tommy Robinson associate, claimed Dover. Kent Police called it spontaneous; the local MP disagreed.
What Reform said
Farage, Saturday: 'disgusting', nobody should protest in balaclavas. Sunday: Britain is 'on the edge of serious civil disturbance'. Tice: Dover looked like a militia, Portsmouth was 'genuine, very frustrated'. Arrivals to 1 September: 16,513, down 43%.