K2RULEZ
Elite Member
Anti-migrant protesters in Portsmouth gathered outside a hotel after mistaking a Pakistani cricket team for asylum seekers.
Protesters arrived at the four-star Marriott hotel wrongly believing that four coaches carrying migrants had arrived there, days after the RNLI brought some 120 Channel migrants from a mega-dinghy to shore in the city.
But the crowd of as many as 50 people was told by the hotel that the group was a cricket team visiting from Pakistan.
The team was the U19 Pakistan men’s cricket side, who are currently on tour and playing against the England U19s.
They came to the hotel days after around 200 people had staged a demonstration in the Eastney area of Portsmouth to oppose the 120 migrants being brought into the UK.
That protest, on Sunday, featured black-shirted men in balaclavas and left several officers injured, police said.
Police have since been seen stationed outside the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Eastney, where the migrants came ashore. RNLI volunteers have been targeted online, with commentators saying they were “traitors”.
On Tuesday night, about 40 to 50 demonstrators gathered outside the Marriott, after social media posts claimed migrants had arrived there.
One post by Chris Lawrence, who lives in the area, said: “Four coachloads of migrants being loaded into the Marriott Hotel near Port Solent.”
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However, George Madgwick, the Hampshire county council Reform UK group leader, intervened to correct the demonstrators after going to the hotel.
He wrote online: “There were reports that possible migrants were staying in the Marriott hotel. I can confirm that is NOT the case. Please don’t attend the hotel.
“A number of concerned local residents spotted what they believed to be migrants going into the Marriott hotel. A number of you messaged me and asked me to come down. I spoke to the hotel and they agreed to meet me.
“Within an hour I was in attendance. Spoke to the crowd forming, who were all respectful and calm – but concerned. The man leading the crowd was very clear they must remain in public land, stay calm, no drinking, no abuse.”
Mr Madgwick continued: “I visited the manager and the hotel explained it was a Pakistani cricket team staying. The cricket team coach came to speak to me personally and I saw proof (hotel were happy to provide).
“I then went to speak to the crowd gathering of 40/50 people and confirmed with them and assured them that it was a cricket team. Immediately the crowd respectfully accepted that, called for calm and asked the rest of them to leave now.”
He said that the Government needed to “understand why things like this happen”, adding: “It’s not because the protesters and crowds are bad people – quite the opposite. It’s because they care deeply about their community and area and see it crumbling before their eyes.”
Two police vehicles were positioned outside the RNLI’s Eastney base on Tuesday after reports that the charity had been targeted for its involvement in the migrant rescue.
The RNLI said some of its volunteers had received abuse. Peter Sparkes, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel.
“Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse.”
Mr Sparkes said the actions of protesters who hid “behind a balaclava or a keyboard” were “wholly unacceptable”.
On Tuesday, it emerged that the RNLI boats that picked up 120 migrants from a mega-dinghy in the Channel had been refused entry to Southampton and Portsmouth because harbour masters deemed there to be no risk to life.
The crews were forced to take the migrants several miles away to Eastney where police, firefighters, Border Force and other officials faced protests by as many as 200 anti-migrant activists and residents.
Large groups, including activists wearing balaclavas and dressed in black, blocked traffic along the road leading away from the port, with photos showing police with riot shields forming a blockade.
On Saturday, some 200 protesters dressed in balaclavas and black clothes brought traffic to a standstill around the port of Dover.
Protesters arrived at the four-star Marriott hotel wrongly believing that four coaches carrying migrants had arrived there, days after the RNLI brought some 120 Channel migrants from a mega-dinghy to shore in the city.
But the crowd of as many as 50 people was told by the hotel that the group was a cricket team visiting from Pakistan.
The team was the U19 Pakistan men’s cricket side, who are currently on tour and playing against the England U19s.
They came to the hotel days after around 200 people had staged a demonstration in the Eastney area of Portsmouth to oppose the 120 migrants being brought into the UK.
That protest, on Sunday, featured black-shirted men in balaclavas and left several officers injured, police said.
Police have since been seen stationed outside the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Eastney, where the migrants came ashore. RNLI volunteers have been targeted online, with commentators saying they were “traitors”.
On Tuesday night, about 40 to 50 demonstrators gathered outside the Marriott, after social media posts claimed migrants had arrived there.
One post by Chris Lawrence, who lives in the area, said: “Four coachloads of migrants being loaded into the Marriott Hotel near Port Solent.”
View attachment 214666
However, George Madgwick, the Hampshire county council Reform UK group leader, intervened to correct the demonstrators after going to the hotel.
He wrote online: “There were reports that possible migrants were staying in the Marriott hotel. I can confirm that is NOT the case. Please don’t attend the hotel.
“A number of concerned local residents spotted what they believed to be migrants going into the Marriott hotel. A number of you messaged me and asked me to come down. I spoke to the hotel and they agreed to meet me.
“Within an hour I was in attendance. Spoke to the crowd forming, who were all respectful and calm – but concerned. The man leading the crowd was very clear they must remain in public land, stay calm, no drinking, no abuse.”
Mr Madgwick continued: “I visited the manager and the hotel explained it was a Pakistani cricket team staying. The cricket team coach came to speak to me personally and I saw proof (hotel were happy to provide).
“I then went to speak to the crowd gathering of 40/50 people and confirmed with them and assured them that it was a cricket team. Immediately the crowd respectfully accepted that, called for calm and asked the rest of them to leave now.”
He said that the Government needed to “understand why things like this happen”, adding: “It’s not because the protesters and crowds are bad people – quite the opposite. It’s because they care deeply about their community and area and see it crumbling before their eyes.”
Two police vehicles were positioned outside the RNLI’s Eastney base on Tuesday after reports that the charity had been targeted for its involvement in the migrant rescue.
The RNLI said some of its volunteers had received abuse. Peter Sparkes, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel.
“Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse.”
Mr Sparkes said the actions of protesters who hid “behind a balaclava or a keyboard” were “wholly unacceptable”.
On Tuesday, it emerged that the RNLI boats that picked up 120 migrants from a mega-dinghy in the Channel had been refused entry to Southampton and Portsmouth because harbour masters deemed there to be no risk to life.
The crews were forced to take the migrants several miles away to Eastney where police, firefighters, Border Force and other officials faced protests by as many as 200 anti-migrant activists and residents.
Large groups, including activists wearing balaclavas and dressed in black, blocked traffic along the road leading away from the port, with photos showing police with riot shields forming a blockade.
On Saturday, some 200 protesters dressed in balaclavas and black clothes brought traffic to a standstill around the port of Dover.
