Disruption at Port of Dover as masked 'stop the boats' protesters block roads

Figure caption,

Masked men chanting 'stop the boats' protest at Port of Dover

BySimon JonesReporting fromin DoverCraig Buchan and Joshua AskewSouth East

Updated Just now

There has been major disruption at the Port of Dover due to a large group of masked men holding a demonstration.

Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocked roads and were heard chanting "stop the boats".

Traffic was stopped from going in and out of the port, with the government saying it condemned "the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused".

Kent Police, which made no arrests, described it as a "spontaneous" protest, while Mike Tapp MP said questions need to be asked around why it appeared the police "didn't know about it".

Officers moved the crowd from the port to Dover Priory railway station at about 11:30 BST and said "all involved had dispersed by 12:00".

Paul King, Reform UK councillor for Dover West, said he had been told it was a "stop the boats protest".

Kent Police has not yet commented on who was behind the demo.

Anti-hate organisation Hope Not Hate claims that the Patriot Platform network arranged the protest, saying the group began meeting in July and has brought together members of anti-migrant groups from around the country.

Demonstrators told the BBC they did not want to talk to the media, although one said "send them back" and another said "stop the boats" when approached.

Far-right activists Tommy Robinson and Danny Thomas both posted about it on X, praising those involved.

Thomas wrote: "The experience on the ground today, was the overwhelming majority of the women and local people we spoke to were thankful that people were actually doing something."

Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp said the incident, which started at about 07:00, caused "absolutely awful disruption" for residents.

"I am fed up with idiots coming to Dover," he said on Facebook.

"I bet if you asked any one of those 'protesters' they wouldn't know small boat crossing are down by 40% and we are working hard to fix the mess.

"I will be looking urgently on Monday to ask questions around why we didn't know about this," he added.

"In this instance, it would appear that the police didn't know about it, and the resources were pretty thin on the ground, to be quite honest from what I saw."

Responding on X, Thomas said Tapp "might want to take a look at what your own constituents are saying. The comments from people in and around Dover speak for themselves."

Labour leader of Dover District Council Kevin Mills told BBC Radio 4 low policing levels contributed to the disruption protestors caused.

He said that the police presence improved over the day, though it was initially "pretty low".

The Port of Dover said operations had returned to normal and routes in and out of the town had all reopened.

"We thank our customers and local community for their patience whilst the police managed the public order incident," it said.

P&O said it would get passengers on to the next available sailing if they had missed their scheduled crossing, as did ferry operator DFDS.

Ferry passenger Remco van Schellen arrived from the Netherlands at about 08:00.

He said: "When we wanted to leave the ferry terminal with the car, we couldn't go any further.

"There were people blocking the roads, the roundabout, just outside of the ferry terminal in Dover.

"There were people in black clothing, their faces masked, so we couldn't see who they were."

Rafael Pittman, a tour guide from London, said the area had been "absolute chaos" in the three hours that he was there, waiting to pick up a group of tourists who had docked at Dover.

He said: "Passengers didn't disembark and we couldn't enter the terminal as it was blocked by freight trucks.

"The hooded protesters arrived en masse, passed the trucks and headed towards the cruise terminal, followed by the police."

Pittman added that, while the protesters "looked quite frightening", they were "friendly-ish" and told him that they were protesting against illegal migration.

Lania Tkaczyk, from Cheshire, saw men dressed in black outside her hotel in Dover.

She said she was unable to leave on time to see her two children take part in a Channel swimming relay at nearby Folkestone.

"It was quite intimidating seeing the men head-to-toe in black," she said.

"Because of the protest I've been delayed but I hope to get to Folkstone to see my children soon."

Demonstrations against immigration are common in Dover, as it is the location where migrants picked up from small boats in the English Channel are brought to shore.

They are typically advertised in advance, however, and Saturday's protest was on a larger scale.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 made it an offence to conceal your identity at a protest in England and Wales, but only if the area has been designated by a police officer of a rank of at least inspector.

In order to designate an area, the police officer needs to believe offences are likely to take place.

The section to do with concealing your identity, external came into force in June.

Reform leader Nigel Farage told the BBC he "deplored" anyone wearing masks or balaclavas at public demonstrations.

"You should not be allowed to be masked-up, balaclavaed-up and go out and protest on the streets of our country," he said.

"It is wrong at every level. So I deplore what is happening in Dover today."

Chris Vinson, leader of the Conservative group on Dover District Council, said several hundred masked men had "loaded into rental vans and then descended on roads leading in and out of Dover."

People who worked night shifts at the port were "prevented from leaving for fears for their safety," he added.

Sir Roger Gale MP said the protesters had driven to and parked on a village green in his Herne Bay and Sandwich constituency overnight.

He described the incident as a "clearly orchestrated demonstration".

The migration issue "does need to be addressed", the MP said, but not by young men in balaclavas "seeking to terrorise the local population of east Kent".

The full government statement read: "The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but we condemn the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused.

"We appreciate the frustration of those who have been impacted today. Access to the port is now restored and traffic is flowing. Those travelling to the port are advised to allow for extra travel time and to follow guidance from providers.

"We thank policing partners and travel providers who we continue to work with to ensure the safety of passengers and the wider community."

Dover is the UK's busiest international ferry and passenger port, dealing with more than nine million passengers by road and two million freight vehicles in 2025, according to the port's website.

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