Portsmouth protesters thought migrants were inside hotel – it was Pakistan cricket team

Protesters gathered outside a hotel in Portsmouth mistakenly believed migrants were staying there when it was actually a Pakistani cricket team, according to reports. Around 50 people stood outside the four-star Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth, where rooms often cost over £120 a night, on Tuesday, a day after demonstrators tried to block migrants being driven away for processing in the port city.

George Madgwick, Reform UK councillor at Hampshire County Council, shared on social media that residents called him to the hotel, where he agreed to meet with its management. “I visited the manager and the hotel explained it was a Pakistani cricket team staying,” he said. “The cricket team coach came to speak to me personally and I saw proof (hotel were happy to provide).”

The North East Havant representative said he told the crowd what he had found and they “immediately respectfully accepted that” and were gone within five minutes.

“There were reports that possible migrants were staying in the Marriott Hotel,” he said in the post.

“I can confirm that is NOT the case. Please don’t attend the hotel.”

Mr Madgwick added that the Government needs to understand the reasons behind the incident and the weekend’s protests.

“If the Government don’t get a grip on this boats crisis we will see this more and more,” he said.

He also suggested the protesters were not “bad people” but instead care deeply about their community.

Stand Up to Racism Portsmouth had a different view of the incident, however, labelling it “racism in action”.

The activist group said: “Yesterday some non white people were spotted amongst the guests at a Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth.

“Anywhere else in the world, it would just be a case of business-as-usual.

“Allowing racists to mobilise like this every time they become suspicious of any group of non-white people in Portsmouth is extremely dangerous.”