Dover Sees Tense Standoff Over Small Boat Migrants
Furious demonstrators hammered on the gates of a migrant processing centre in Dover this afternoon, chanting 'send them back' in a tense confrontation with police. The protest saw around 50 flag-waving activists, including many women and some children, descend on the Western Jet Foil facility opposite Lord Warden House.
Processing Centre Closed Amid Protests
The processing centre, which serves as an initial entry point where health checks are conducted before migrants are moved to the Manston asylum centre in Kent, had been closed for days for urgent repairs. However, the Union Jack and St George flag-waving group appeared unaware of this fact as they voiced their frustration outside the shuttered facility.
One woman repeatedly berated police officers with a megaphone, calling them 'traitors' and 'scum' for defending asylum seekers. The situation escalated when protesters confronted a Flixbus full of tourists bound for the nearby ferry terminal, demanding they 'go back home' before eventually allowing the coach to proceed.
March Through Dover Streets
A convoy of agitators had earlier made a slow march from The Golden Lion pub to the port, forcing traffic on the A20 to slow to a crawl as they chanted 'Enough is enough, send them back' and 'Keir Starmer is a w***er'. Among the protesters was carer Kerryanne Jones, 50, clad in a pink tutu and St George flag with 'Enough is Enough' tattooed on her leg.
The mother-of-four said: 'I've been coming to these for five or six years because my home is being invaded by immigrants and we need to stand up for our women and children. We are raising awareness and getting as many people to join us as we can because we need to stop the boats.'
Political Voices Emerge
Speaking outside The Golden Lion, Amelia Randall, 40, a UKIP councillor with Kent County Council, claimed that voters were turning to her party after losing faith with Nigel Farage's Reform. She said: 'Reform constantly changes their mind on what they are going to do. Nigel Farage was against mass deportations and now he thinks they are possible. But if you want to stand by your country you have to stand by what is right. He just wants to get elected.'
Activist Harry Hilden, 29, who has formed the National Emergency party in Faversham, Kent, voiced his anger at small boat migrants: 'Everyone has had enough of this invasion from these Third World countries. These are not women and children, it's an invasion of military-aged men. Scabies and TB is running rampant and there's sexual abuse against women and children. We have homeless on the streets and yet we are paying to house these people. The whole country is at boiling point.'
French Authorities Mobilise Against British Vigilantes
Meanwhile, across the Channel, France's version of MI5 and scores of police mobilised to repel a planned 'D-Day style invasion' by British vigilantes protesting against small boat migrants. French authorities imposed a sweeping ban on gatherings between Calais and Dunkirk on Saturday, threatening to arrest and deport anyone arriving from the UK.
Operation Overlord Falls Short
British protest leader Daniel Thomas, an ex-convict banned from France after harassing charity workers last month, appeared to have slipped into the country via Belgium. However, his boasts that his self-styled 'Operation Overlord' would draw more than 15,000 'proud Englishmen' to France proved delusional.
In reality, just one thousandth of his predicted volunteer army arrived – around a dozen followers who gathered on a beach waving flags rather than slashing dinghies or demonstrating at migrant camps as promised.
Heightened Security Measures
French authorities, who had been appraised by attention-seeking visits to beaches and migrant camps by Thomas and fellow 'right-wing patriots' late last year, were not taking any risks. According to critics, French officials seemed markedly more concerned by the arrival of British protestors than they are by the tens of thousands of migrants setting off for England in dinghies annually.
Security forces included large squads of Police Nationale officers, gendarmes, and multiple members of the DGSI – France's principal domestic security service equivalent to MI5. A senior law and order source confirmed: 'Plain-clothes DGSI officers were out in force along the northern coast, looking for British troublemakers. They supported police and gendarmes in making sure there was no large-scale invasion.'
Legal Actions and Bans
Prefectures in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais areas issued orders prohibiting members of groups such as Raise the Colours from operating over the weekend, citing 'serious risks to public order'. A French official statement read: 'British nationals belonging to these movements, who are checked by law enforcement, will be returned to the border as quickly as possible.'
The statement referred to groups adhering to 'a xenophobic and anti-immigration ideology that creates a clear risk of public disorder', adding that state services would be 'fully mobilised' to protect migrants and guarantee coastal safety.
Charity Workers Targeted
A key incident that worried French authorities involved two nurses and support staff working with Médecines Sans Frontières who complained of being attacked by the group in December. Michaël Neuman, head of MSF's migration unit, said the banning orders 'were expected' and added: 'We had sent a letter to France's Interior Minister to express our concerns, because we are very aware of the danger posed by these groups.'
A spokesman for Dunkirk prosecutors confirmed 'multiple complaints' about the Raise the Colours movement were under investigation and could result in prosecutions. Under French law, 'violence' extends to verbal insults and other forms of intimidation.
Most complaints came from local charities and human rights groups, with a spokesman for the Utopia 56 migrant support group stating: 'Every time they've come, we've reported them.' Despite Raise the Colours claiming its activities were peaceful and it 'does not support violence or any unlawful activity', videos clearly show leading figurehead Ryan Bridge shouting and swearing at migrants and charity workers.
The group, which describes itself as a 'grassroots movement for unity and patriotism', had disassociated itself from Thomas's Operation Overlord plan following their split last week, citing concerns volunteers could be put in danger.
