Portsmouth protests end in scuffles and four arrests

Rival demonstrations converge

Anti-immigration demonstrators and anti-racism counter-protesters clashed in Portsmouth on September 12 during the city’s second consecutive weekend of migration-related demonstrations. Sky News reported from the scene that about 100 anti-immigration protesters broke away from the main gathering and followed counter-protesters through nearby streets, producing scuffles and forcing officers to keep moving groups apart. Both sides had spent hours chanting outside the Guildhall before the confrontation spread beyond the designated assembly areas.

Police announced four arrests connected either to Saturday’s events or the previous weekend’s disorder. A man was detained on suspicion of damaging a police vehicle, while a 76-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of concealing his identity and a 33-year-old man on suspicion of obstructing a highway. Officers also arrested a 16-year-old in relation to suspected violent disorder during the preceding Sunday’s protest.

New powers shape the police response

The demonstrations were the first major Portsmouth test of restrictions allowing arrests for face coverings at specified protests. Police said participants at both organised rallies had generally left their faces uncovered. One masked participant was stopped, briefed on the conditions and allowed to continue after removing the covering. The police commissioner said hundreds participated and that, despite several arrests and scuffles, the gathering avoided a repeat of the assaults on officers and damage recorded the previous weekend.

The immediate trigger remains the arrival of small boats on England’s south coast. In a September 7 statement to Parliament, the policing minister said a boat carrying approximately 120 people had been directed to Portsmouth after reaching British waters near the Isle of Wight. More than 200 protesters subsequently tried to block coaches transporting those arrivals for processing, and officers used dispersal powers, batons and incapacitant spray while restoring order.

That official account provides the background to Saturday’s mobilisation but does not independently verify every new scuffle or arrest, which remain attributable to Sky News and police statements relayed in the report. The latest protest is distinct from the earlier port blockade: it involved planned rival marches, newly imposed conditions and fresh arrests. It also shows how opposition to small-boat arrivals is shifting from ports toward recurring urban demonstrations.

The next questions are whether prosecutors bring charges, whether police retain or widen face-covering restrictions, and whether organisers return for a third weekend. Authorities will also review whether designated gathering points were sufficient once a large group splintered into side streets. The government’s broader migration policy remains contested, but the verified development here is a new day of public disorder and arrests, not a change in border law.