Masked anti-migrant protesters disrupt Britain’s biggest international ferry port
Protest against migrant crossings across the English Channel blocks access to Port of Dover.
The protest against migrant crossings across the English Channel blocked access to the Port of Dover in southern England on Sept 5.
LONDON - Hundreds of masked people protesting against migrant crossings across the English Channel blocked access to the Port of Dover in southern England on Sept 5, briefly halting traffic being ferried between France and Britain.
The Port of Dover said traffic was “free flowing” again around noon, hours after being “stopped” on the morning of Sept 5 as roads approaching the port were blocked by protesters.
Local police said they were “engaging” with protesters, who had initially blocked “all routes” in and out of the terminal, used by ferries connecting southern England to northern France.
Images shared online showed dozens of people dressed in black and wearing balaclavas streaming to roads surrounding the port.
In an online live stream that appeared to be filmed by one of the protesters, a crowd of black-clothed men chanted “stop the boats” as they stood facing a police line.
Britain has been grappling with how to curb the perilous and politically contentious small-boat crossings, which in recent years have seen tens of thousands of migrants arriving annually on the shores of south-east England.
The issue has been relentlessly seized upon by the hard-right Reform UK party, which has surged in popularity on the back of growing anti-immigration sentiment.
The centre-left Labour government has said the number of boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers across the English Channel was the lowest this summer since 2019, in part because of cooperation deals with the French government.
One passenger affected by the disruption told Sky News they were “stuck on a boat in Dunkirk for over an hour and a half”.
“Stop the boats? Wrong ones!” added the passenger, who was not named.
During summer months, the Port of Dover says it handles more than 10,000 freight vehicles and 15,000 passenger vehicles a day, and is responsible for a third of Britain’s goods trade with the European Union.
It is Britain’s biggest international ferry port. AFP