Masked protesters block Port of Dover

A boat arrival carrying an asylum seeking is evidence of its arrival.

That is not and neither is there any evidence that no one listens the concerns people have about asylum seekers arrivals.

LemonJam

No evidence to support the statement no one listens.....

Every boat that arrives is evidence.

IMO anyone on a protest should act within the law no matter what it is they are protesting about. The pro Palestine marches were attended by 1,000's of people, the vast majority were peaceful, respectful of the police and followed the rules (having notified the police of their intention to hold a protest march. There are families, people of many different faiths including Jews on the marches. The group who stopped traffic in Dover had not notified the police, had covered their faces to hide their identity and the organiser, Danny Thomas, had already been responsible for a racist attack in Epsom. Compare apples with pears as much as you like but they are not the same fruit!

No evidence to support the statement no one listens.....

People are upset by illegal immigration, no one listens.

Maremia

Were any of them arrested?
Handcuffed?
Carried away?

Not the Dover protestors and they left Dover of their own accord.

The Portsmouth protestors, organised by same man, had a more specific goal- called to action by same man to stop the safe passage of asylum seekers being taken to Marston centre to have their claims processed. They smashed police car windscreens and broke a police cordon.

So Police issued a dispersal order by 3am to facilitate their arrests but in the face of that consequence the Portsmouth protestors then decided to disperse.

Senior officers cannot issue anti social behaviour dispersal orders without just cause sundown girl!

Smashing police windows is antisocial behaviour as is breaking policy cordons. Is this peaceful and acceptable in your world?

Neither did the protesters have the legal right to stop the safe passage of asylum seekers to exercise their legal right to have their AS claim processed at Marston Immigration centre. They were not peacefully protesting they were acting anti socially and illegally.

Maremia

The point they made is that they were not removed by the police, or arrested, or handcuffed, or carried away to a cell.
Was this a 'protest' or some sort of a testing the waters, trial run?
I think we may find out.

It appears the protesters have been trained in the rules and laws of legal protest and how to avoid getting arrested.

Back in the 1970s and 80's CND taught me the same thing.

Were they? If you think that protests where people dress in a uniform and wear masks are acceptable, whatever the cause, we inhabit different worlds.

Casdon

sundowngirl

Greyfur16 - "clapping and cheering thugs "

Why do you call them thugs?? They were demonstrating peacefully, they did no damage and no one was arrested. There are photos of them on the trains afterwards laughing and chatting with other passengers quite were quite happy.

Some people attending the Palestinian demonstrations every Saturday throughout the summer covered their faces and you probably wouldn't have called them thugs, despite the disruption they caused and the many arrests that were made

Well, obviously it’s quite normal for groups of people to dress all in black, wear masks, stop traffic and frighten the public - in your world.

But the Palestinian marches were ok? In Dover there was no trouble other than traffic disruption for a few hours and it’s not illegal to wear black.

It has been suggested that the funding for these 'Patriots' comes from abroad.
More foreign influence in our politics.

sundowngirl

Greyfur16 - "clapping and cheering thugs "

Why do you call them thugs?? They were demonstrating peacefully, they did no damage and no one was arrested. There are photos of them on the trains afterwards laughing and chatting with other passengers quite were quite happy.

Some people attending the Palestinian demonstrations every Saturday throughout the summer covered their faces and you probably wouldn't have called them thugs, despite the disruption they caused and the many arrests that were made

Well, obviously it’s quite normal for groups of people to dress all in black, wear masks, stop traffic and frighten the public - in your world.

sundowngirl

Greyfur16 - "clapping and cheering thugs "

Why do you call them thugs?? They were demonstrating peacefully, they did no damage and no one was arrested. There are photos of them on the trains afterwards laughing and chatting with other passengers quite were quite happy.

Some people attending the Palestinian demonstrations every Saturday throughout the summer covered their faces and you probably wouldn't have called them thugs, despite the disruption they caused and the many arrests that were made

The protesters were called to Portsmouth specifically to block coaches carrying asylum seekers not to peacefully protest as you suggest sundowngirl. All organised by the same man who organised and coordinated the Dover protest.

Have you not seen the video footage of the protestors trying to intimidate police officers - shouting at the police officers shame on you etc? Have you not read media articles? They were mostly wearing black and balaclavas.

The protestors blocked roads for hours and vowed to stay all night to prevent the new 140 asylum seeker arrivals being taken safely to a processing centre. This only ended at 3am when the police raised a dispersal order and warned they would make arrests if they did not comply and leave.

Criteria for issuing a dispersal order- Section 35 of the Anti Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 when a senior officer has reasonable grounds to believe it is necessary to prevent or reduce anti social behaviour, crime or disorder in a specific public area. There is your evidence.

Police cars had window screens smashed by protestors and at one stage the portrestors broke the police cordon- hardly peaceful.

The protestors behaviour appeared thuggish to me in the video footage. Definition of thuggish- acting like a bully or brute, looking tough, aggressive, using a derogatory tone to criticise people. All clear on the visa footage I have seen.

ooops - who were quite happy

Greyfur16 - "clapping and cheering thugs "

Why do you call them thugs?? They were demonstrating peacefully, they did no damage and no one was arrested. There are photos of them on the trains afterwards laughing and chatting with other passengers quite were quite happy.

Some people attending the Palestinian demonstrations every Saturday throughout the summer covered their faces and you probably wouldn't have called them thugs, despite the disruption they caused and the many arrests that were made

Not my version of 'patriotic'.

The leader of a group responsible for raising union jack and St George’s flags across England has been charged with 14 offences, including racially aggravated harassment, threatening behaviour and assault.

Ryan Bridge, 45, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, co-founded Raise the Colours, which describes itself as a “grassroots movement for unity and patriotism”.

The group’s members have been erecting union jack and St George’s flags on roundabouts, lampposts and other street furniture across England since August last year.

Thames Valley police said they had charged Bridge with 14 offences from a two-month period in Oxfordshire from 31 January 2026. He is due to appear at Oxford magistrates court on 3 November.

The offences are:
1) Seven counts of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
2) Three counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of, or provoke, unlawful violence.
3) Two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress.
4) One count of racially aggravated fear of violence.
5) One count of common assault.

Someone upthread mentioned that raise the flags campaign.
Is it true that the leader of that movement has just been charged by the Police with 14 offences?

MaizieD let’s hope so.

Our local council is desperately trying to close the vape shop on our High Street.

The owners are rather canny so far.

From the BBC 10th August 2026

New vape shops will require planning permission and councils will get more powers to block new betting shops, under government plans aimed at improving high streets.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said town centres had been "hollowed out" by decades of decline and for many people, the high streets they grew up with are "unrecognisable".

He said the plans were "shaped" by a series of BBC News investigations which exposed organised crime on high streets, revealing shops selling illegal cigarettes, vapes, cannabis and cocaine, enabling illegal working and suspected money-laundering.

It appears that the tories and Reform would rather see vape shops on High streets than empty premises. How bizarre

The Conservatives and Reform said the proposals would lead to "more empty" shops, without tax relief for other small businesses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg90el9236o

I just hope that Burnham does what he promised...

"I abhor that criminal gangs of people traffickers are getting rich on others misery" GG13

Yes, I do too. They trade on poverty and hopelessness by promising potential migrants that they have a solution to the problems faced by families living in areas of poverty and starvation. Families put themselves in considerable debt to send a son abroad because they are desperate. Trump has cut USAID , the UK has cut foreign aid and now spends much of it on migrants who are in the UK rather than in the countries they are travelling from. This is a pattern across Europe and the Western world, cutting aid means more people face poverty and starvation and are more likely to consider migration. We cannot build a wall big enough to keep people out but we could try to help them to build an economy that makes them want to stay at home. Humans treating other less fortunate people with humanity not hostility.

foxie48

No Oreo we don't need these shops on our High streets if they are a front for organised crime, it is my understanding that the government is putting laws in place to deal with them. It's a pity that this wasn't tackled by the previous government.

It was, our High Road was raided several times before Keir Starmer was elected.

People were arrested, some deported, fines paid (in one instance monthly over two years) nail bar and restaurants still remain open…

No Oreo we don't need these shops on our High streets if they are a front for organised crime, it is my understanding that the government is putting laws in place to deal with them. It's a pity that this wasn't tackled by the previous government.

Oreo

I think those posters who live in lovely parts of the country where life goes on as normal and they don’t see any of this stuff will never understand what the rest of society who live with it feel.

I also agree with this

Oreo

Still….we do need all the barber shops, nail bars and vape shops and the handy little convenience stores where you can buy dodgy cheap cigarettes and drugs from under the counter! Not.
Almost all owned and run by former asylum seekers according to the government backed raids on them.

I agree