Jamie Morris
Reporting from Portsmouth

Ferry Road this morning is calm, still, and with very little going on.

It's hard to believe just a few hours ago hundreds of protesters were gathered here attempting to stop coastguard boats carrying migrants from docking - and then again, tying to stop the buses carrying them from leaving.

We understand this protest continued into the early hours, before the crowds dispersed.

I just spoke to two men walking by who said they had driven from "up north" last night to join protesters but broke down on the way.

From where I’m standing on the edge of the marina, a police van has just driven past leaving the area. In the distance it looks as though one police car remains.

The Conservative police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and Isle of Wight says Portsmouth is "not set up" for the processing of migrants via small boats following yesterday's dinghy arrival.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Donna Jones says: "My big concern now is that Portsmouth does not become a destination of choice for people traffickers."

By contrast, she says Dover has had a lot of government investment in a holding and processing centre, and Border Force.

Asked whether she's saying she doesn't want a processing hub set up in Portsmouth in case it risks attracting people, she responds "yes I am absolutely saying that".

"We have hundreds of miles of coastline across southern England," Jones continues. "If Dover is no longer the destination of choice and instead there is going to be a spread across southern England this is a significant issue for the government."

Calling the response to last night's protest a "significant operation", Jones says a number of officers were involved in policing the "largely peaceful" demonstration which took them from other policing jobs.

"This is really putting a lot of pressure on UK policing - that is my concern," she says.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

The government has condemned the "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" of protesters in Portsmouth last night.

“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder," a spokesperson says, adding: “We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.”

Conservative MP for nearby Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, says it is "extremely concerning" to see "an illegal migrant crossing this far west".

A group of five local Labour MPs released a statement thanking HM Coastguard and RNLI crews for their "continued dedication to rescuing all in peril on the sea".

"This Labour Government is cracking down on the evil, criminal smuggler gangs... but we’re not complacent. We still have an enormous job ahead of us," the statement issued by Satvir Kaur, Amanda Martin, Stephen Morgan, Darren Paffey and Richard Quigley reads.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage writes in a post on X: "This week Andy Burnham struck an agreement for 45 more officers on French beaches... This is a joke. Only Reform will send the boats back."

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Sunday’s protest in Portsmouth followed the arrival of a small boat, carrying 140 migrants, in the city.

The dinghy was launched in the Bay of the Seine, France – around 170 miles (273km) from Calais where such boats are typically launched.

This means the boat's journey to UK shores was significantly longer.

It was shadowed for around 10 hours by French rescue boats, but the French coastguard said it was not safe to attempt to stop the dinghy on water.

It reached UK waters at lunchtime on Sunday, at which point those on board were met by lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

It’s thought more than 500 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday. Figures will be confirmed later by the Home Office.

A further two boats carrying around 140 people have attempted the crossing in the early hours of this morning.

The weather now worsens in the Channel for several days - which will be a relief for the authorities following a weekend of anti-migrant protests.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Police carrying riot shields faced off with hundreds of protesters in Portsmouth on Sunday, in the area surrounding Portsmouth’s Eastney Landing ferry port.

They blocked roads to prevent 140 migrants, that had arrived in a single dinghy that had crossed the English Channel, from leaving the city.

The dinghy, launched from the Bay of the Seine in northern France was met by two UK lifeboats after entering UK waters at about lunchtime.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said it had deployed lifeboats, a helicopter and a plane to respond to reports of the small boat heading towards the UK - adding that the Border Force, Hampshire Police and ambulance crews also attended.

The group of protesters in Portsmouth said they were attempting to prevent the migrants being transported to the Manston processing centre in Kent.

A dispersal order was put in place by Hampshire Police, with the force warning anyone failing to avoid the area could be arrested.

Image source, PA Media

Two large protests caused significant disruption in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend as hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate against migrants arriving by small boats.

The first took place in Dover on Saturday morning and saw protesters dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocking traffic from coming in and out of the port.

Chants of “stop the boats” could be heard amongst the crowd.

Kent Police later described the protest as “spontaneous” but the force has since faced questions as to why they didn’t know about it in advance.

On Sunday night, hundreds protested in a similar manner in Portsmouth after 140 migrants travelled across the English Channel in a single dinghy, which was escorted to shore by lifeboats once in UK waters.

Protesters said they were trying to stop authorities transporting the migrants to the Manston processing centre in Kent.

Earlier that day, the Home Office had stressed the government was “bearing down” on small boat crossings and “restoring control at our border”.

We’ll be hearing more on this story on this morning – including from affected local authorities.