Officers injured and vehicles damaged during anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth - as police hunt suspects

Officers were injured and vehicles were damaged during an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth, police said.

Demonstrators clashed with police after hundreds gathered following the arrival of a boat carrying migrants on Sunday.

They blocked roads for hours and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant protest in two days.

The government condemned the "thuggish" behaviour at the protest, with Sky correspondent Barnaby Papadopoulos reporting from the scene that demonstrators threw objects at police.

Police are now investigating what crimes were committed during the protest and are trying to identify anyone involved.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said an investigation has been launched into potential assaults and criminal damage.

Around 200 demonstrators who had gathered were dispersed at about 4am on Monday, police added.

A spokesperson for the force said: "A number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the evening.

"A small number of officers were treated at the scene for injuries, but no-one in attendance from any agency or the public was seriously injured.

"Violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest.

"No arrests have been made at this time, however an investigation to identify offenders responsible for any assaults to officers, criminal damage to vehicles, or other criminal offences has been launched."

A dinghy, reported to be carrying some 140 migrants, was intercepted in the English Channel on Sunday.

It left the Jobourg coastal region of Normandy in France and is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat - landings as far west as Hampshire are rare.

It was met in the Channel by two RNLI boats who took the migrants to Portsmouth.

Bystanders have now started taking life jackets away from Eastney harbour, where the boat arrived on Sunday.

A large pile of orange vests were left near the gangway to the shore.

Portsmouth council leader Steve Pitt said the Home Office has "serious questions to answer" after an "unsuitable" location was chosen to disembark the RNLI boats carrying the migrants.

A Home Office spokesperson 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 a line into disorder."

Coaches were able to leave in the early hours of Monday taking all of those brought ashore to a location for processing in the usual way, likely to be the Manston arrivals centre in Kent.

Footage posted to social media appeared to show protesters following the convoy of coaches along a motorway after it had left.

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Sunday's disorder followed protests in Dover on Saturday, when hundreds of masked, black-clad men blocked road access to the port.

In a statement, Kent Police said Saturday's demonstration involved some 200 people and caused "significant traffic disruption for several hours".

The force added there was no need for peaceful protesters to wear face coverings and an investigation for criminal damage to a road has been launched.

Nigel Brookes, assistant chief constable of Kent Police, said: "There has been some discussion about the fact that protestors on Saturday wore face coverings.

"To do so is not, in itself, sufficient to establish a criminal offence.

"There is no need to wear a face covering in Kent, if your plan is to peacefully express your views."

(c) Sky News 2026: Officers injured and vehicles damaged during anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth - as p