Far-right protesters descend on Dover singing ‘Rule Britannia!’

Hate groups descend on symbolic port town — but refugee campaigners are out in force

Far-right and anti-migrant protesters clashed with police and blocked a dual carriageway on Saturday as they assembled in Dover to demonstrate over the arrival of thousands of migrants in small boats via the English Channel.

A heavy police presence was deployed on the streets amid fears of violence in the Kent coastal town.

On the outskirts, protesters blocked the A20 dual carriageway in both directions, many of them chanting “We want out country back” and singing Rule, Britannia! as they marched towards the centre. Kent Police dispatched over a hundred officers, a mounted unit and more than a dozen force vans to move the protesters along.

The force has confirmed they made nine arrests during the protests, including for racially aggravated public order, violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker. The force said enquiries are ongoing to identify any further offences.

A spike in precarious migrant crossings prompted by a period of warm weather has inflamed sections of the far right, with monitoring group Hope Not Hate warning the issue was being monopolised by “grifters” attempting to garner public support.

Others, organised under the banner of pro-veteran groups that leverage the struggles of former military members as a talking point against state assistance to asylum seekers, have mulled organising blockades of the port used to take refugees to processing centres but urged non-violence.

Their reticence comes after a violent 2016 rally at the coastal town which saw 62 people brought to justice when far right groups and anti-facist organisations clashed – leaving some activists concerned about a return to prison if violence flares up again, analysts told The Independent.

Pro-migrant activists gathered in Market Square in a demonstration organised by Kent Anti Racism Network on Saturday.

Peter Keenan from Kent Refugee Help told a crowd of about 100 that when society sees people who are fleeing war and turns them away “that says something about the state of your society”.

He added: “We are not those people. We are standing up and welcoming people who are in desperate circumstances fleeing from awful situations.”

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal who said people are “rightly angry about the number of people breaking into Britain in small boats”, urged protesters to stay away.

She wrote on Twitter: “A protest in Dover in the middle of a pandemic is not a sensible or responsible thing to do. We cannot risk a second wave – protesters should stay away from Dover this weekend.

“Police resources are better used fighting crime than policing political demonstrations.”

Chief Superintendent Nigel Brookes from Kent Police said: “As a force, it is our responsibility to facilitate peaceful protests, however we will not tolerate violence or disorder.

“Anyone planning to visit Dover with the intention of committing offences should be aware they are not welcome here and that we will seek to prosecute anyone who breaks the law.”

The region has proven an area of interest for nationalist groups both as a point of entry for migrants attempting to cross the channel and due to the nationally symbolic nature of the white cliffs of Dover.

And in recent weeks activists, including Brexit party founder Nigel Farage, have taken to the cliffs to film those arriving on the coast – providing a platform for far-right claims that those crossing pose a risk both to national security and public health.

Dr Joe Mulhall, head of research at Hope Not Hate, said there had been a build-up of anger among the far-right as migrant crossings have continued.

He said: “It’s one that has a potential for popular support so a lot of the grifters on the far-right are not going to let an opportunity like this go by.”

He added that the monitoring organisation had grown less concerned over the scale of the action as a number of high profile groups tell their backers to stay away, with no one right wing organisation wanting to take ownership of the rally.

Local anti-racism organisers were out in the town to oppose the anti-migrant groups despite the risk of clashes.

The group said: “Kent Anti Racism Network is a collective of people from all political and organising backgrounds with one common goal: to combat racism and racists in our community.

“This weekend symbolises this struggle, and we encourage all good people in the local community to come down and stand with us in support of those arriving on our shores, in the way that Kent did so proudly when welcoming refugees after World War 2."

Additional reporting by agencies