Photo credit: The Telegraph
On Saturday, dozens of masked people protesting Channel migrant crossings blocked access to the port of Dover, briefly halting ferry traffic between England and France.
Al Jazeera reports that images shared online showed dozens of demonstrators dressed in black and wearing balaclavas streaming onto roads surrounding the port in the United Kingdom.
In an online livestream that appeared to be shot by one of the protesters, a crowd of black-clad men chanted “stop the boats” as they faced a line of police.
The UK government condemned the action, saying it went beyond peaceful protest.
On Saturday morning, the Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was “stopped due to an ongoing public order incident”. At around noon, port managers said traffic was “free-flowing” again. P&O Ferries also confirmed that access to the port had been restored.
Local police said they were “engaging” with protesters, who had initially blocked “all routes” in and out of the terminal, used by ferries connecting southern England to northern France.
Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, wrote on social media that “patriots have mobilized to close down the port”.
Local Conservative Party councillor, Chris Vinson, said the protest appeared to be “illegal migration-related”.
The Labour government said “the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but we condemn the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused”.
Britain is grappling with how to curb the perilous and politically contentious small-boat crossings, which in recent years have seen tens of thousands of migrants arriving annually on the shores of southeast England.
