Pro and anti-migrant protestors face off in Dover in latest clash over Channel crossings
- So far in 2023, 2,953 migrants have arrived in Britain after crossing the English Channel
- Far right group Patriotic Alternative arrived in Dover today to demonstrate in the city
Campaigners for and against migrants faced off in Dover today as nearly 3,000 people have crossed the English Channel so far in 2023.
Kent Police formed a line between the groups who gathered in the center of the port city.
A record 44,666 migrants arrived aboard small boats in 2022, according to the Interior Ministry. More than 60 percent of asylum applications are successful.
Since January 1, 2,953 migrants have arrived in the UK – an average of 48 per day. On January 25, around 321 people arrived in the UK and applied for asylum.
One of the groups in Dover today welcomed the newcomers who risked their lives crossing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in flimsy boats.
The other group wanted to deport the migrants.
The anti-refugee campaign was organized by the far-right group Patriotic Alternative.
Patriotic Alternative was founded in 2019 by Mark Collett, a neo-Nazi who calls for a “racially pure white society” and ran the youth wing of the BNP before the party expelled him. It now claims to have more than 15,000 members.
Last week, Patriotic Alternative organized a demonstration in Skegness where people marched alongside a “Hitler lookalike”.
Kent Police said the demonstration and counter-demonstration this afternoon was peaceful.
A spokesman said: “We would like to thank the people of Dover for their patience and understanding during today’s protests, which have now come to an end and have passed largely without incident. Most of those involved have now left the area with no riots or arrests.’
Speaking on the ongoing small boat situation, a Home Office spokesman said: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives making these dangerous crossings is putting an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.
“Our priority is to stop this illegal trade and our new Small Boats Operational Command – reinforced with hundreds of additional personnel – is working with our French partners and other authorities to bring the people smugglers down.
“The government is also going a step further by introducing legislation to ensure that anyone entering the UK illegally is arrested and promptly deported to their country of origin or a safe third country.”
The Home Office said it had hired 730 additional staff to deal with Channel Crossings and took operational command of the situation from the military.