An entire town on the south coast of England was effectively locked down on Sunday evening by police to ensure the safe landing of an illegal migrant boat from France.
The Hampshire Constabulary took the unprecedented action of issuing a dispersal order for the whole town of Gosport on Sunday in a bid to prevent local protesters from blocking the arrival of a migrant boat carrying 120 illegals into their town, the Portsmouth Evening News reported.
The police force invoked Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 across the entire area of Gosport, meaning officers could order residents to disperse from anywhere in the town on penalty of arrest. However, they created a special protest zone in the local Walpole car park. The dispersal order will remain in place until 4 pm local time on Monday.
GOSPORT, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 4: Protestors hold up a sign during an anti-illegal migration protest on October 4, 2026 in Gosport, England. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Hampshire Constabulary also issued orders barring protesters from wearing masks or other face coverings, under Section 158 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
The draconian measures taken by the police came as locals were attempting to once again put pressure on border authorities to bring the migrant boat ashore elsewhere, as they successfully did two weeks ago, when a dinghy carrying around 50 illegals from Normandy was rerouted to Dover after a protest broke out in their planned destination of Gosport.
Two weeks before that, in neighbouring Portsmouth, hundreds of masked men from the ‘Patriot Platform’ group descended upon the local marina where a migrant boat was being brought ashore, blocking buses for hours before police threatened mass arrests.
The group was organised by longtime Tommy Robinson ally Danny Tommo, who was later arrested after having slashed a people-smuggler migrant boat adrift in the English Channel with a knife last month. Last week, Tommo was denied bail, in what some critics claim was a politically motivated decision.
Despite the imposition of the police orders to protect illegal migrant ‘megadinghy’ landing on Sunday, protests were staged near the Haslar Marina, where locals sought to create a blockade. Footage on social media appeared to show the protesters chanting “send them back”.
However, the hardline police response ultimately prevailed, and the 12o illegals were brought ashore at Fort Blockhouse, the former home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. The illegals had been escorted into British territorial waters by the French boat Abeille Liberté and then escorted the rest of the way by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), according to the Portsmouth Evening News. Once ashore, the illegals were loaded onto buses and sent with police escort to Kent to presumably have their asylum claims logged.
GOSPORT, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 4: A RNLI lifeboat arrives carrying migrants while anti-migrant protesters gather in Gosport on October 4, 2026 in Gosport, England. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Councillor George Madgwick, the leader of the local Reform UK party, lamented that the use of such police powers will “set a precedent” and that it is now likely that similar measures will be applied again.
He also warned that Portsmouth appears set to become the “second home” for illegal migration to Britain as people smugglers in France expand their operation.
“It’s heart-breaking because Portsmouth Harbour is the home of the Royal Navy. It’s our nations pride and joy. And we are allowing an invasion of foreign nationals in through the same waters,” Madgwick said.
“Our country is falling apart. Most normal people with common sense can see it clear as day. These people aren’t far right thugs. They are normal people who can see how bad things are getting and want to be heard. Britain is Broken,” he added.
Coaches carrying people thought to be migrants are driven into the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel off the coast of Hampshire. Picture date: Monday October 5, 2026. (Photo by Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
The local Conservative MP for the area, Caroline Dinenage, urged the government to re-route migrant boats to the Port of Dover as they did last month, arguing that Gosport is ill equipped to face a large influx of illegals.
“We have an extremely constrained transport network, no acute hospital, and emergency services, which are already under significant pressure,” she said. “The Home Office and the Home Secretary should make exactly the same decision they made two weeks ago and ensure this boat is taken directly to Dover.”
“They need to send a clear message to these evil people- smuggling gangs that new routes cannot be opened, and they also need to recognise what events two weeks ago made absolutely clear – Gosport is not a safe or suitable location to disembark small boats.”