Masked anti-migrant mob paralyses Port of Dover for hours

AN ANTI-MIGRANT mob of hundreds of masked men, dressed head-to-toe in black, brought the Port of Dover to a standstill on Saturday, blocking roads and chanting "stop the boats" in a demonstration that paralysed the UK's busiest international ferry port for hours.

Traffic was halted from entering or leaving the port from around 07:00 BST as the mob took over roads and roundabouts, reported BBC.

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Kent Police, which made no arrests despite the scale of the disruption, called it a "spontaneous" protest, eventually forcing the crowd to Dover Priory railway station by 11:30, with officers confirming "all involved had dispersed by 12:00".

Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp was furious, branding those responsible "idiots" and demanding answers over why police "didn't know about it", with officers on the ground left "pretty thin".

Chris Vinson, Conservative group leader on Dover District Council, said masked men had "loaded into rental vans" and descended on roads leading into the town, leaving night-shift port workers "prevented from leaving for fears for their safety".

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Sir Roger Gale MP condemned what he called a "clearly orchestrated demonstration" carried out by young men "seeking to terrorise the local population of east Kent". Even Reform UK leader Nigel Farage turned on the mob, saying he "deplored" the masks and branding the tactics "wrong at every level".

Anti-hate group Hope Not Hate said the Patriot Platform network, formed only in July, organised the protest, while far-right figures Tommy Robinson and Danny Thomas openly praised those involved online.

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Travellers described fear and chaos. Ferry passenger Remco van Schellen told BBC that masked men blocked his route out of the terminal.

The government said it "condemned" the disruption. The port later confirmed operations had returned to normal.