Three charged with assault after anti-migration protests in Hampshire

Hundreds gathered on Tuesday night in anticipation of a small boat arriving in Gosport

Three people have been charged in connection with anti-migrant protests that drew hundreds of demonstrators to a marina in Hampshire on Tuesday night.

Six people were arrested by police, as anti-migrant activists who mistakenly believed a small boat was due to arrive at Gosport gathered in an attempt to disrupt the arrival of any asylum seekers.

Those charged are Shannon Dodds, 32, of Leonard Road in Gosport, who has been charged with two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker, Sally Pearson, 31, of Forton Road in Gosport, who has been charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker and a racially aggravated public order offence, and Toby Matthews, 33, of Forton Road in Gosport, who has been charged with common assault of an emergency worker.

Dodds and Pearson have been remanded in custody and will appear at Portsmouth magistrates court on Thursday 24 September.

Matthews was bailed but must appear at Portsmouth magistrates court on 9 November.

Hampshire police said in addition to these charges, a 19-year-old man and a 36-year-old man from Salisbury who were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass had been bailed with conditions until 22 December while inquiries continued.

They added: “A 67-year-old man from Gosport was also given a fixed-penalty notice for driving without due care and attention. He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and has been bailed with conditions until 22 December while enquiries continue.”

The protests in Gosport followed a social media push by far-right activist Daniel Thomas, who styles himself Danny Tommo, who called for action to disrupt the potential arrival of asylum seekers as he livestreamed efforts to apprehend small boats crossing the channel to more than 100,000 followers on Tuesday afternoon.

He is also now facing a police inquiry after he used a knife to slash an inflatable dinghy in the Channel while a rescue worker was onboard.

His livestream showed him approaching an empty dinghy which had contained about 50 migrants who had reportedly left from a beach in Normandy. They had been picked up by two RNLI lifeboats once they had reached the UK search and rescue area, but a French official then got on to the craft.

The footage showed Thomas taking out a knife and slashing at the vessel in the channel, shouting at the French rescue worker: “Right, you are on English territory. This is England. This is not France any more.”

“Traitor,” Thomas shouted as his boat motored away.

The protesters in Gosport, many of whom wore black clothing and face coverings, chanted “send them back”, wrongly assuming the boat would arrive on the Hampshire coast.

Instead of heading for Gosport, the RNLI transferred the asylum seekers to a Border Force vessel which landed in Dover early on Wednesday.

Hampshire police said they had deployed officers to the town on Tuesday evening “to help facilitate peaceful protest, ensure the safety of the local community and support partners in the event of any emergency at sea”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have been clear that groups creating fear and intimidating communities cannot be allowed to operate with impunity.

“Police should make full use of the powers available to them to deal robustly with criminality and ensure communities, staff and those in their care are protected.”

Campaign group Stand Up To Racism described the incident as “disgusting” in a post on X, and said Thomas’s supporters in Gosport had blocked ambulances during the protests.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was forced to order an urgent security review after the failure by the Border Force to intercept two other migrant boats in two days before they reached the Kentish coast this week.

She said on Wednesday: “This was not acceptable. Our improved monitoring has led to uncontrolled crossings becoming incredibly rare. But even one is one too many.

“The new tactics adopted by the smugglers, like launches from much further west in France, are a reminder of two things. Firstly, these gangs have no regard for human life. They are putting people on increasingly long and dangerous crossings.

“Secondly, our efforts are having an impact. We are making it much harder for gangs to launch vessels, forcing them to change their approach, and as a result we are significantly reducing the numbers coming here by small boat.”

The total number of migrants who have crossed the Channel by boat so far this year is 17,784, according to the government – a figure 45% lower than at the same point last year.

The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said Tuesday’s “chaos” showed the UK was seeing “illegal immigrants crossing at will over ever larger distances and in ever larger boats”.

“This latest fiasco shows that the French are not even trying to stop the illegal immigrants’ boats,” he added.