ANTI MIGRANT RIGHT WING
'Protest' at Port of Dover causes delays to ferry services as masked men descend on the town
"No arrests were made. Traffic is flowing normally, and all involved had dispersed by midday," Kent police said in an update on Saturday afternoon.
Dozens of masked men dressed in all black descended on the Port of Dover on Saturday morning in what police have described as a "protest."
Port authorities said there was an "ongoing public order incident" happening across the town, which is a key passenger hub for ferry services between the UK and mainland Europe.
The Port of Dover has since confirmed that "operations have returned to normal," with routes in and out of Dover and the port open and traffic "moving freely."
It had earlier said the incident was "affecting all routes in and out the port and town.
P&O Ferries, which operates a ferry from Dover to Calais, said its services were operating with delays of up to an hour following the disruption.
Video footage circulating online shows protesters - many wearing balaclavas, hoods and hats - gathering in the Kent town and chanting.
Far-right anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson shared a video of the protest on his X account, writing in the caption: "British patriots send a warning shot to the establishment in Dover this morning."
"Patriots can organise and gather huge numbers without the need for social media. Watch this grow," he continued, adding: "We want our country back."
Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal, criticised those involved in another post on X, telling protesters to go home and saying he was speaking with police.
"Dover Park Run cancelled, port access disrupted, the lives of residents made more difficult," he wrote.
"I am fed up with idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption. I bet if you asked any one of those 'protesters' they wouldn’t know small boat crossing are down by 40%," Tapp added, referring to migrant Channel crossings.
Officers from Kent police attended the scene and were "engaging with protesters," according to the force.
"No arrests were made. Traffic is flowing normally, and all involved had dispersed by midday," it added in an update on Saturday afternoon.
Bardella signs pact with Farage to stop small boat crossings 'forever'
At the Reform UK Party conference on Friday, Nigel Farage and Jordan Bardella signed an agreement, vowing to end irregular migrant crossings "forever", should their respective parties come to power.
On Friday, Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally party signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, aimed at stopping the boats "forever" — should their parties come to power — at the party's annual conference in Birmingham
Farage and Bardella signed the agreement which vows to end irregular migrant crossing on stage. The Reform UK leader hailed the deal as a "genuine new entente cordiale" between the two countries and political parties.
Bardella — who is hoping to become France's next Prime Minister — said that "the United Kingdom must not be the destination for illegal immigrants entering France. They must be sent back to their countries of origin.”
Delivering his speech in English, something he rarely does, he accused French President Emmanuel Macron of "failing" to protect France. Switching to French for the press conference that followed his speech, Bardella argued that “if France managed its borders better, no one would leave Calais.”
Bardella and Farage's meeting followed the French President's trip to London on Thursday, where he met with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to discuss how to "scale up" efforts to tackle illegal crossings and strengthen the UK's relationship with Europe.
Britain's Labour government said this week that the UK had recorded the lowest number of boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers across the Channel from France to England this summer since 2019.
Tense past relations with the National Rally party
Farage and Bardella last met in December last year at a private members' club in London. But despite their shared eurosceptic views, Farage has not always had a smooth relationship with the National Rally Party — or with Le Pen.
In 2014, Le Pen accused Farage of "aggression" against her party, after he refused to form an alliance with the National Rally party (which at the time was known as the National Front) in the European Parliament due to what he described as the party's "anti-Semitism and general prejudice."
When questioned about his past ties to the National Rally party by the press, Farage conceded on Friday that he had been “nervous” about the National Front, founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, when he began his career as a member of the European Parliament in 1999.
“When Marine took over, I observed the situation; I didn’t get involved right away. What she has accomplished, namely ridding the party of those extremist elements and bringing it into the mainstream is a considerable achievement", said Farage.
Reform UK led national polls in the UK for over a year until July, but the party's standing has slumped in recent weeks amid multiple scandals involving allegations of irregular political funding.
On Friday, hours before Reform's conference was set to begin, Farage's Reform UK was reported to the Metropolitan Police and the Electoral Commission over alleged illegal donations.
This followed an undercover investigation aired by British broadcaster Channel 4 News, in which an investigative group called Verbatim posed as a wealthy American financier and his UK-based son. Under UK law, donations from foreign investors are illegal.
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