RNLI lifeboats carrying 140 Channel migrants were denied entry to two ports before docking near Portsmouth, where they were met by hundreds of masked protesters. The Mail has the story.
Police officers were injured and vehicles damaged during a stand-off with more than 500 balaclava-clad men after the migrants were brought ashore at Eastney Landing on Sunday.
The leader of Portsmouth City Council has heavily criticised the decision, claiming it had “put lives at risk” and caused “needless disruption”.
It has now emerged that the crews of two RNLI lifeboats were warned off docking at Southampton Port or Portsmouth Harbour and threatened with legal action if they did so.
A broadcast on an open marine VHF radio revealed that Southampton Vessel Traffic Service and King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth denied the RNLI permission to enter either port or their approaches.
They were told that failure to comply with the order could result in criminal prosecution.
The crews of the Bembridge and Yarmouth lifeboats decided to sail several miles further along the coast and dock instead at Eastney, where the confrontation later unfolded.
Large crowds blocked traffic along the road leading away from the port, with photos showing police carrying riot shields as they confronted the black-clad mob.
Hampshire Police Federation claimed two officers were pushed off motorbikes, while others had bricks thrown at them. The chaos came a day after masked anti-migrant protesters blocked traffic at the Port of Dover.
Associated British Ports (ABP) confirmed that the RNLI lifeboats carrying the migrants were told not to come to Southampton on Sunday night.
“ABP did receive an enquiry about landing recovered migrants at the Port of Southampton,” a spokesman said.
“We had to decline the enquiry as the port did not have suitable reception facilities available.
“If there had been a safety-of-life-at-sea issue where Southampton was the closest port, or if we had received a formal direction from the authorities, then we would have played a role. Neither was the case in this situation.”
Worth reading in full.
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It isn’t a new observation but really the Mail’s version of events was vile. No opportunity to insult the demonstrators was missed.
I’m encouraged by the campaign to dox and discredit it’s French-for-tax-purposes owners.
Why won’t your cowardly msm find out who aporoved the rubber dinghies coming in, who arranges the coaches and accommodation for your new incomers? No instead, the msm cowards put innocent Brits private details in their newspapers. The Daily mail is one such coward. Folks if you have learned nothing, msm is not fit for purpose. Stop reading or listening to it. They will get the messsge. MSM start reporting responsibly, that is not too much to ask for.
In the Mail article it says that there were 20 women and some very young children aboard and that many of the migrants had no life jackets. One of the motors failed shortly after setting off. Surely no one in their right mind would risk their life and that of their child by setting off in an overcrowded dinghy with no life jacket. Are they ignorant of the danger? Coerced by smugglers to go anyway? Told they will be rescued ? It beggars belief.
Obviously a nibble bunch on both sides. Protesters waiting in the right place at the right time despite changes in the destination and not forgetting the inflatable’s their occupants and the meet and greet crowd just as nibble. Obviously coordinated,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j3912qe33o
RNLI CEO crying about his staff being “abused”.
Simple solution: stop trafficking people.
Southampton City Council styles itself a ‘City of Sanctuary’, luckily they don’t control the port.
Anyone else noted that Guido Fawkes, once known as the fearless political blog that Westminster clicked on first, has failed to notice events in Portsmouth? Has he been got at?
An innocent lorry driver faces a heavy fine for accidentally bringing in an illegal immigrant yet the RNLI brings them in en masse with the protection of the police. A snapshot of what’s wrong in our country.
Meanwhile it promotes itself with the 7800 volunteers but pays its boss £189k PA and spends over 40% of its funds on staff pay and pensions. Another bloated charity. Just stop giving.
Perhaps the most apposite article I’ve read today..
“DOVER ‘TEST WATER’ PROTEST HAS CHANGED THE GAME FOREVER
By Stan Robinson @VoWalesOfficial
The mainstream media and elite politicians are completely missing the point about what happened in Dover this weekend.
They saw a few hundred blokes in black, wearing balaclavas and blocking roads to the ferry port, and they immediately ran to their TV studios to whine about “disruption” and “intimidating behaviour”. They want you to think it was just another random outburst, a few hotheads causing a nuisance.
They are dead wrong.
What happened on the Kent coast wasn’t about inflicting violence. It was a calculated, deliberate test of new Operational Security (OPSEC).
Our own Security Services have already raised the alarm: hostile foreign states, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are actively exploiting the lawless dinghy route from France to plant ‘sleeper’ cells straight into the United Kingdom. Yet while our borders remain a wide-open sieve for genuine national security threats, patriotic citizens who dare to raise their voices are the ones being systematically targeted by the state.
Look at why people are covering their faces. This isn’t about mimicking Northern Irish paramilitary tactics—that comparison misses the mark… Read more »
Various loony left media outlets and people who comment on MSN complained about men of unknown identity disrupting communities and intimidating locals.
Spot on guys, this is why the boats have to stop.
Antifa have been doing that for years and they didn’t complain.
RNLI is now on my “never in a million years” list. I find it hard to understand why anyone would volunteer for service with them.
There are still actual emergencies at sea. I’m very glad the RNLI exists; I just hope that if I’m ever in distress the lifeboat crew are on rescue duty and not off acting as a trafficking taxi.
They have ruined their brand which was up there with the Guide Dogs. Brave and resilient volunteers (all men I would imagine) let down by lanyard-wearing liberal leaders safe in the warm comfy offices
Spot on! And the “lanyard-wearing liberal leaders safe in the warm comfy offices” are mostly female, I would imagine.
I understood the charity for Guide Dogs is one of the most wealthy. Pay for CEO anyone?
I understand it is Border Farce colllecting more than 90% of the illegals and not the RNLI. Depending how much the RNLI CEO is paid I’ll start donating to them again.
£175,000 p.a. apparently so I won’t be sending him anything.
With reports today indicating the entire south coast is vulnerable to these dinghies my mind conjured up that opening credit for “Dad’s Army” with the Union Jack arrows stabbing at Europe, only now it is in reverse with no Union Flags in sight. It has turned into “Who do you think you are kidding Mr Burnham, if you think they’re on the run”
This is wonderful news! Hats off to the Southampton Vessel Traffic Service and the King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth, for standing steadfast against the Treasonous Invasion, and for the first time, the RNLI Traitors listened aghast as those steely, unflinching words came over their radios:
“Permission DENIED” !!!
This is exactly what the True Patriot Leader of Italy Matteo Salvini did, and Treacherous Meloni stood by doing nothing while he was nearly IMPRISONED for it.
Italy’s deputy PM Matteo Salvini facing six years in prison for rejecting migrant ship | The Standard
Salvini Faces Renewed Migrant Boat Prosecution Battle – American Faith
Matteo Salvini is the True Patriot Leader of Italy
The people responsible for those (correct) decisions at Southampton and Portsmouth will soon be removed from their posts. You can guarantee it.
Well, true patriots will honour them, and Rupert Lowe has a way of making the best use of people’s various skills, so who knows? Maybe he would appoint them as experts in their field as part of the Restore Britain team. Just a thought.
This exposes the deceit of this long sorry saga. We are always told that we have to pick the illegals up as soon as they enter UK territorial water, which because of the narrowness of the Channel between Calais and Dover touches French territorial water. But this time, there were miles of international water in which this boat could have been intercepted. If seized in international water, there would be no obligation to bring the illegals to shore in the UK. Our scum bag leaders knew the boat was on the way, it was escorted by French boats and planes. We sent out defenceless lifeboat men, when a military vessel (anything in Portsmouth capable of putting to sea) should have been deployed to pick them up and return them from international waters back to their point of departure.
The boat full of illegals was 4 miles off the French coast when someone onboard made a mayday call, apparently their engine had stopped working. The first French “rescue” boat to arrive asked the illegals if they wanted rescuing, i.e. being taken back to France, to which they all said no. The French then provided a new engine and escorted them to British waters where the RNLI picked them up. As soon as the illegals said they didn’t want rescuing the French should of said “Fair enough, stop wasting our time making false distress calls” waited for them to make their own way back to France and arrested them for endangering life by making false distress calls and diverting rescue ships away from a possible genuine rescue elsewhere.
I can’t help thinking that the way the police presented themselves, in riot gear and with shields, was in large part to blame for the confrontation. It was certainly not the most diplomatic of moves.
It would also be interesting to know the context in which police managed to be pushed off their bikes.
The police are wankers.
Sorry to have to make such a
generalisation, but it is a
generalisation, and
generalisations are useful ….
…here goes…
A.C.A.B.
Stop donating to the UK-hating RNLI. Then they might learn that they should not be a luxury ferry service for illegal migrants.
As an ex-mariner I always used to support the RNLI financially. But I stopped when it became Royal National Lifts for Illegals.
Way to go!
To be fair, the RNLI is between a rock and a hard place.
They are TRAITORS.
Why are they?? They could just say we won’t. But the funding they are getting is a lot.
Orange people smuggling boat displayed here.
This kind of story is very revealing.
It suggests that the lax immigration standards in this country might be being pushed by a pretty small number of people who have somehow managed to get everyone else to stand down either through confusion, obfuscation or intimidation.
What is pretty clear is that the establishment is not united on this issue, and that presents an opportunity for those who want to put an end to the waving in and giving away of free stuff to random immigrants.
Interesting that both Portsmouth and Southampton refused the vessel entry. Coming to their senses – or just fear of demonstrations?
The latter I suspect and maybe concern about naval and commercial shipping.
They would certainly get a bad press if a load of immigrants came so close to the Navy base there!
I worked for ABP for a while. Very sound
It is the harbourmasters decision and they could have been up to capacity at the time.
So there is Hope?