Migrants were brought into Portsmouth (Image: Barry Williams/PA Wire)
Andy Burnham must not ignore rising anger over the migrant crisis because Britain is teetering on the brink of chaos, Kemi Badenoch has declared. The Tory leader accused Labour of being “weak” on immigration as 120 people were brought into Portsmouth following a record crossing attempt from near Cherbourg.
It prompted warnings of an “invasion” of other coastal towns, such as Brighton, Southampton or Weymouth as smugglers change their tactics to exploit weak points in the border.
And hundreds of protesters descended on Portsmouth late on Sunday night, vowing not to let three coaches of migrants through.
Some even chased the buses down the motorway as they carried the migrants from Portsmouth to Dover.
Mrs Badenoch declared that “thuggery” cannot stop small boat crossings, adding it “requires a serious plan and a serious deterrent”.
She told the Daily Express: “Since Labour entered government, 95 per cent of illegal immigrants crossing the Channel have been allowed to stay.
“So, it’s no wonder the small boats keep coming or that we get the scenes we saw in Dover and Portsmouth at the weekend.
“I unconditionally condemn the violence, and the police have my full support in upholding the peace.
“But the public are clearly angry about the Government’s inability to stop illegal immigration into Britain. The way to deal with that is with a serious plan and a serious deterrent, not thuggery.
“Andy Burnham is claiming the one-in-one-out deal with France is sufficient, when it’s only returned 1,700 people to the continent (a reminder: 20,000 people have crossed the Channel just this year), and handing leaflets to illegal immigrants reminding them not to rape women.
“Labour is weak on immigration. Andy Burnham just doesn’t want to get his hands dirty.”
Some 625 migrants were detected crossing the Channel on eight small boats on Sunday, taking the total this year to 17,138.
And French navy boats helped one mega-dinghy carrying 120 people reach British waters after its engine broke down shortly after leaving Cherbourg. It was eventually brought into Portsmouth – the first time this has happened.
Rescue teams admitted they were blindsided as the smugglers used an “isolated, rocky spot” in the region, which is almost 285 miles away by road from Calais.
And the boat was in “serious difficulty” within “an hour”, officials said.
This led to five French rescue vessels and two helicopters helping the 120 asylum seekers on the nearly 70-mile journey.
A rescue source said: “Jobourg is not patrolled by police, because nobody would expect a boat to leave from such an isolated, rocky spot.
“Within an hour or so the boat was in serious difficulty, and passengers on board made Mayday calls on their mobile phones.”
Kemi Badenoch has warned thuggery is not the way (Image: Getty)
The engine had failed, investigators believe, meaning the dinghy was drifting dangerously about 14 miles off the coast.
A French Navy H-160 helicopter and a Dragon 50 civil security chopper joined the huge operation, with also included the five French ships.
The Abeille Liberté got closest to the stricken boat, and found “all on board packed closely together, and clearly in some distress”.
The source added: “We asked them who wanted to be rescued, and the answer was no one.
“There were 20 women and eight children among them, and they clearly caused the most concern.
“Only a few migrants were wearing life jackets, so we handed out jackets to all of them. It seemed incomprehensible that they were risking their lives without life jackets.
“A second outboard motor was made to work, so the boat could continue on its voyage to Britain.”
But their arrival into Portsmouth sparked fury, with protesters descending on the city throughout the evening.
Police used riot shields and pepper spray to force the crowds back, but demonstrators eventually got through in numbers. They then made their way inside the marina compound.
Footage showed protesters wading into the water and one man being removed from the floor after lying down behind a police van.
Daniel Thomas, who launched Patriot Platform to protest against small-boat arrivals and livestreamed Sunday’s demonstration, told his supporters to leave after police formally ordered them to leave the area.
And tensions over the Channel migrant crisis are about to get “significantly worse”, Nigel Farage has warned.
The Reform UK leader said in a video post on Monday: “Masked marches on the streets of Dover, and a huge, spontaneous protest on the streets of Portsmouth last night.
“You’d be right in thinking that this country is now on the edge of serious civil disturbance.
“I have warned that this would get out of control. I predicted an invasion, and boy, is it happening.
“[Previous governments] have failed us completely and utterly, and all they can do, all they can do, overnight, is to attack little old ladies in Portsmouth who came out of their houses to say we don’t want this, we’re scared.”
He added: “But let me please say this: people wearing masks, dressed up in a similar type uniform to a paramilitary, is not going to solve this problem.
“There is a marked difference between what happened in Dover and what happened last night in Portsmouth. The only way we’re going to solve this is through the ballot box.
“This is a serious situation. It’s about to get significantly worse.
“The Government needs to act. I suspect it won’t. But remember, peaceful protests good, uniforms and masks – bad.”
It follows a similar protest which blocked the Port of Dover on Saturday.
Hundreds of balaclava-clad men dressed all in black poured into the road to prevent any vehicle from entering or exiting the UK’s busiest port.
But Thomas, speaking to Reform’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, declared they will soon become a “voting bloc” and are trying to influence the main political parties.
He said: “What we’re doing right now is creating an infrastructure of men, not for violence, not to commit crimes, but to create a voting bloc.
“So, in 12, in 18 months’ time, we convert into a voting bloc, and that voting bloc will go to the most suitable candidate and to the most suitable party that is able to bring this country back into order.”
And Mr Yusuf declared it was “thuggish and intimidating” for Labour to “impose, through state force, illegal migrants – unvetted men – into local communities without their consent without their permission.
“We know that British people including British women have been raped and murdered by people coming across the channel illegally by boat. We’ve got to take this seriously as a national security emergency.
“And I want to say this, if you continue to do this, to any human beings in the world, the response from those communities is going to be helplessness and yes, anger.”
But policing minister Sarah Jones has claimed the Conservatives are behind “the frustration we see in our communities today”, as she spoke to MPs following protests in Dover and Portsmouth.
Ms Jones told the Commons she did not want to “minimise the very valid concerns that law-abiding people have” about migration, fuelled by the work of “vile criminal gangs”.
Referring to previous Conservative governments, the Labour minister continued: “Let us never forget that the frustration we see in our communities today is a product of chaos and crisis in the years that preceded the general election of 2024.”
Earlier in her statement, Ms Jones said that on Saturday morning “around 150 individuals descended on the port of Dover, many of them wearing face coverings”.
She said “no arrests were made, and the crowd eventually dispersed some hours later”, and warned “the impact was felt by local residents and workers for whom the scenes will have been unnerving – as well as ferry passengers and motorists who faced delays as a result”.
Turning to protests in Portsmouth on Sunday, Ms Jones said: “A boat carrying approximately 120 people reached British waters near the Isle of Wight, considerably further west than the majority of small boat crossings.”
She said the RNLI acted “under the direction HM Coastguard” to meet the boat and take it into the Portsmouth area, after which “a group of more than 200 protesters arrived at the harbour, intending to block three coaches which were due to take the arrivals for processing”. The protesters began to disperse at around 4am, Ms Jones said.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed on Monday afternoon that a group of around 200 anti-migration protesters had left Portsmouth at about 4am.
A number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the standoff and a handful of police officers were treated at the scene for injuries, none of which were serious.
“Violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest,” the force said in a statement.
“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.
“We can also confirm that Border Force has advised us that individuals from the boat have been transported outside of Hampshire for processing as part of the normal process after they were safely disembarked.”