A major anti-migrant protest occurred in Portsmouth last night, triggered by the arrival of a dinghy carrying asylum seekers into the harbour.
Hundreds emerged onto the street and blocked the coaches transporting the migrants, in ugly scenes that continued until 3am. Police cars were attacked among other instances of criminal damage, and a dispersal order put in place.
The protest was called by Stephen Lennon’s right-hand man Daniel Thomas (AKA Danny Tommo), a far-right activist and convicted criminal who runs the new Patriot Platform group.
This was the second major anti-migrant protest orchestrated by Thomas last weekend. On Saturday morning, hundreds of black-clad Patriot Platform protestors, wearing balaclavas and arriving in trucks and lorries, descended on Dover and blockaded roads to the port.
Altogether, the weekend marks a dangerous escalation in anti-migrant activism.
The events in Portsmouth signify a shift in tactics among the far right. While events of this size often follow weeks of public promotion, this gathering occurred entirely in response to Thomas’ call out on the night. From the beaches of Portsmouth, Thomas told his followers via livestream:
“I need every man and his dog that is around Portsmouth to block the entry to Eastney. These coaches cannot leave.”
He also encouraged followers to prevent the coaches from leaving, adding that there “might be some breakdowns on the roads” leading into the area. By the late evening, approximately 40 people were in the water, with hundreds on the roads next to the beach.
Once they had exited the water, hundreds gathered on the banks alongside the coaches, which were lined with police. Some protesters used marine apps to locate small boats in the area, triggering debates amongst the group as to whether to head to other locations.
Mobilisation of this sort is a development in a growing vigilante trend within the far right. The ability to gather a large group at short notice makes groups like Patriot Platform unpredictable, difficult to trace, and actively dangerous for local communities.
The immediate reaction to the Dover protest from Reform UK was unusually strong in its condemnation. When asked by Christopher Hope in a conference interview for GB News, Nigel Farage answered:
“Disgusting. Nobody, at any political protest, whether they’re on the left or right, should be wearing balaclavas. It is wrong, it’s horrible”
Reform’s Treasury spokesman – or self-styled ‘Shadow Chancellor” – Robert Jenrick went even further, suggesting that the Dover protesters should have been arrested for blocking roads:
“We don’t like people blockading things […] I absolutely hate Just Stop Oil, I urged police to lock them up, do your worst on them […] You’ve got to apply the same approach to the others”
This rare moment of ideological consistency did not last long, however, and by the time the Portsmouth protest started, senior party figures were issuing far more favourable statements. Suella Braverman stuck a sympathetic tone while sharing a video of the protest:
“People in Portsmouth are angry, scared and feel like this government is actively trying to destroy the country. Enough is enough.”
Deputy leader Richard Tice tried to square the circle by drawing a false distinction between the two protests, saying that while protesters in Dover “looked like a very intimidating militia”, the Portsmouth demo was altogether different: “almost nobody was wearing masks […] this was a genuine, very frustrated group of people saying enough is enough”.
Perhaps seeing an opportunity in Reform’s initially strong stance, Restore Britain had no qualms in backing the protests. Leader Rupert Lowe – who has previously called for Just Stop Oil protesters to be arrested for blocking roads – tweeted that the protest had been peaceful while timidly suggesting that they attempt to minimise disruption, as though a disruption was not the entire purpose of the tactic.
He later went on to make the startlingly authoritarian promise to retroactively prosecute and imprison “hundreds, if not thousands” of civil servants who enable the “invasion”:
“Any high-ranking public servant facilitating and deliberately enabling the invasion of Britain will be prosecuted by a Restore Britain Government. They will go to prison. Hundreds, if not thousands – this is their warning […] So back us. Give the threat weight. Put the fear of God into them.”
Broadly, the protests have been received positively by far-right influencers and activists. While many have significant concerns about Thomas and the wider circle around Tommy Robinson – who are variously criticised for being corrupt, too favourable to Israel and insufficiently focused on racial nationalism – the tactics have been praised as the vanguard of the popular anti-migrant movement, and a means to force political action.
For example, the protest was attended by Harrison Leworthy, the former co-leader of the neo-Nazi White Vanguard and current activist for National Rebirth Party, along with current White Vanguard deputy Declan Young. Leworthy has previously condemned Danny Thomas as a police informant and an “anti white fool”, but was complimentary about the events in Portsmouth and urged others to attend in future.
Patriot Platform is a manifestation of the modern far right: a conglomeration of anti-migrant vigilantes. It is an outgrowth of the localised anti-migrant groups that have characterised far-right activism in recent years.
Patriot Platform’s activity last weekend should be a wake up call for local and national authorities to take this type of threat seriously. The far right, operating amongst loosely formed networks outside of mainstream debate, have been able to grind a town to a stand still in a single morning and gather hundreds across the country within hours notice. There must be a robust response.
Prefer to listen? Click the play button to hear the audio version. Harry Shukman Reform UK is staffed by oddballs and enigmas, but none odder…
