Tara Mewawalla
Live reporter

On Saturday morning, around 200 people descended on Dover, many wearing face coverings, to protest against small boat arrivals.

Separately, on Sunday afternoon, a boat carrying around 120 people was directed to Eastney Marina in Portsmouth by UK lifeboats. That evening, protesters arrived at the harbour and attempted to block coaches that were due to take those arriving for processing.

Our UK correspondent Daniel Sandford explains how the two protests are linked.

Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt described the decision to land the lifeboats in Portsmouth - on which he says the council was not consulted - as "completely unsuitable".

Today, Kent Police said the only offence it was currently investigating following Saturday's protest was damage to a road, while Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said an investigation is underway following Sunday's protest.

Hampshire Police Federation reported two officers were pushed off motorbikes, while others had bricks thrown at them. Policing Minister Sarah Jones told MPs police were "forced to use batons and pava spray".

One of the protesters at the Portsmouth protest said people are "fed up with these boats", while a local witness said it was difficult not worry about a place "where people hold and openly express such extreme views".

We are ending our live coverage here, but you can read more in our news story.

Image source, PA Media

Danny Thomas - the man who seems to have organised the protests in Dover and Portsmouth - confronted Reform UK's Zia Yusuf earlier.

He interrupted Yusuf - who was speaking to the media on a visit to Portsmouth - and said he wanted the Reform official to "take a message back to Nigel [Farage]".

"That those men who you saw, yesterday and on Sunday, they're not football hooligans. They're working class men that have to cover their faces," Thomas says.

In a post on X earlier, Farage said that "people wearing masks, dressed up in a similar type uniform to a paramilitary is not going to solve this problem". He added: "Peaceful protest: good. Uniforms and masks: bad. Voting is the only way we get a solution."

Speaking to Yusuf, Thomas said: "I understand Nigel is going to be prime minister one day and I understand he has to set a standard… but Nigel needs to be very careful with his words."

Yusuf went on to say he wants to make it "really clear" that there is "never any excuse for violence against police officers". Police have said a small number of officers were injured and some vehicles were damaged during the Portsmouth protest last night.

Yetunde Yusuf
BBC South East

Kent Police are yet to speak with the organisers of Saturday's protest in Kent after 200 masked individuals blocked access to the port of Dover for several hours, an assistant chief constable has told the BBC.

More than 48 hours on, ACC Nigel Brookes says Kent Police are inviting the organisers to get in touch with the force.

"We haven't spoken to any organisers of the protest in Kent," he says.

"I would ask for the organisers to reach out to us and we can discuss not only the events which took place on Saturday but how, if there are plans to resume protests of that nature, we can work and police those protests."

Brookes adds that the police had no intelligence to suggest that the disruptive protest would take place which has been described by the authorities as "spontaneous".

Earlier, Brookes defended the fact the force did not know about the protest, saying: "We do not as a matter of course monitor peaceful protesters, and their political viewpoints are not taken into consideration."

Tara Mewawalla
Live reporter

We have been hearing from policing minister Sarah Jones, who has been taking MPs' questions on the weekend's events.

Here is what we heard in her statement:

• During Sunday night's protest in Portsmouth, police were "forced to use batons and pava spray" to maintain order, Jones told the Commons
• She said there was "no excuse" for threatening behaviour or serious disruption. And she said those who "cross the line" into illegality will face the "full force of the law"
• However, she added: "None of this is to minimise the valid concerns that law-abiding people have when they see vile criminal gangs exploiting the nation's generosity"
• She said large boats with over 100 people crammed on board is a "clear cause for concern" but that gangs transporting migrants are "responding to the impact our work is having"
• She told Labour MP Mike Tapp that Saturday's protest was a "no notice protest" - police were not informed about it - but that it was clearly planned by organisers and involved people "from outside the area coming in and causing chaos"
• Jones said since 2024, the government has "beefed up" the structure surrounding the national coordination of protests, which has improved finding information about protests online
• Responding to a question from the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, Jones said the two protests were "very different" - one was organised by a group, she said, and the other was a response to "a series of events"
• Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said this is a "wake-up call" and that millions across the country are "angry" - in response, Jones said small boat crossings have dropped by 43%

Reform UK MP Suella Braverman says local people she has spoken to in Portsmouth wanted her to send the following message to the government: "They are terrified, they are furious and they are desperate. They are not far right racists."

Braverman asks whether Jones will guarantee "under no circumstances" that a temporary or permanent migrant processing centre be set up in Portsmouth.

Jones acknowledges that people are "scared and angry", adding that the government has improved the system of illegal migration "significantly" since Braverman was home secretary under the Conservatives.

Jones says it is disingenuous of Braverman to suggest she was calling concerned local residents racist. She says she has made clear the concerns of locals is "very different from the racist thugs that we see in other places" - and those who are stirring up hatred online.

Image source, Hampshire Police Federation

Hampshire Police Federation says police cars were attacked and two officers pushed off their motorbike during the protest in Portsmouth.

The organisation also says that one recently trained officer was pelted with stones, while others had bricks thrown at them.

Chair of the federation Spencer Wragg says: "It appears that the police last night became the target for some of the protest."

He adds: "Thankfully there are no serious injuries to officers, but the professionalism they showed in the face of provocation and immense pressure was admirable.

"Those scenes in that area of Portsmouth weren’t protests, they weren’t protests at all, it was clear that some people were intent on disorder and venting their frustrations."

The vast majority of protests are peaceful, he says, but what happened last night "doesn't support the cause of those peacefully protesting" and was "merely criminal behaviour".

Image source, Hampshire Police Federation

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson asks whether Jones will review why the police were "caught off guard" by these protests and why no arrests took place.

Jones says it would not be appropriate for the government to comment on police intelligence but that they are looking at the decisions made.

She says the two protests were "very different" in that the first was "clearly organised by a group... called the South East Patriots", while the protest the following day in Portsmouth was a response to "a series of events that led to this boat having to dock at Eastney Marina".

She also says the government will make sure they understand "exactly what happened" and why that landing site was picked in that circumstance.

Mike Tapp, Labour MP for Dover and Deal, says Saturday's protest in his constituency was not spontaneous, it was well organised.

He asks the policing minister whether she'll ensure the intelligence picture surrounding incidents like this is strong enough so police can respond accordingly.

Jones says she has spoken to the deputy chief constable of Kent Police, and Saturday's protest was a "no notice protest" in terms of the fact that police were not informed about it.

However, she says clearly it was planned by those who organised it and it involved people "from outside the area coming in and causing chaos".

Since the riots of 2024, she says the government has "beefed up" the structure surrounding the national coordination of protests, which has improved intelligence sharing and finding information regarding protests online.

She says the offer of mutual aid worked well this weekend, but adds that "we will make sure we learn the lessons" in terms of intelligence.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp says the right to protest is a "fundamental part of our democracy" but it "should never be violently exercised" or "cause serious disruption to other people".

Philp says this should be a "wake-up call" for the government, and claims "millions and millions of people up and down this country... feel angry as well".

Philp recounts a trip to the beaches of northern France a few weeks ago, where he says he watched a dinghy with around 100 people on it, while the French authorities "stood by".

He says that officers "did nothing" because, he says, they were under order not to intervene.

"So long as that continues to happen, these crossings will continue as well."

Responding, Jones says small boat crossings have declined by 43% this year.

She says she hopes he can learn more about how the government's deal with the French of "payment by results".

"£110 million of what we give to the French is dependent on them delivering results, which is why we are seeing an improvement," she says.

Jones says the use of large boats with over 100 people crammed on board is a "clear cause for concern".

She says the gangs transporting migrants are "never going to go quietly".

She says "they are responding to the impact our work is having and we will adapt in turn" with enforcement in partnership with France.

Jones says the government's priority will "always be the safety of British people", and it will continue to bear down on small boat crossings, while working with police forces to maintain order on the streets.

"While we must protect our ancient right to free speech, what we will never tolerate is the disruption of people's daily lives or the intimidation of our communities," she adds.

Image source, Parliament TV

Jones says she has spoken to policing partners today, adding that work is ongoing to establish any lessons and ensure relevant intelligence is shared "at pace" across the law enforcement system.

She says peaceful protest is a "fundamental part of democracy" and must be defended, but adds that citizens also have a right to go about their daily lives.

There can be "no excuse" for threatening behaviour or serious disruption, she says, adding that those who "cross the line from peaceful protest to illegality" will face the "full force of the law".

She says the government condemns the "intimidating and thuggish behaviour" shown by some this weekend.

"None of this is to minimise the valid concerns that law-abiding people have when they see vile criminal gangs exploiting the nation's generosity," she says.

Image source, House of Commons

Policing minister Sarah Jones says that at around 07:30 on Saturday, about 150 people descended on the Port of Dover, many of them wearing face coverings. Kent Police "deployed rapidly" and there were no arrests made, she tells MPs.

Then, in the early afternoon on Sunday, a boat carrying approximately 120 people reached British waters and was directed by the RNLI - under the direction of HM Coastguard - to Eastney Marina, Portsmouth.

At about 20:00, over 200 protesters arrived at the harbour intending to block coaches that were due to take those arriving for processing, she says.

Police used a dispersal notice to "ensure public safety", while "officers were forced to use batons and pava spray to maintain order in the face of some aggression".

Policing minister Sarah Jones has just started speaking in Parliament after immigration protests in Dover and Portsmouth.

You can watch live at the top of the page, and we'll bring you updates here too.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

There were about 120 people on board the dinghy that headed towards Portsmouth this weekend, the BBC understands.

Information from the French authorities had previously indicated there were about 140 people on board.

We're expecting policing minister Sarah Jones to speak in Parliament soon about the weekend's protests in Dover and Portsmouth.

She'll also take questions from MPs on the events, and you'll be able to watch live at the top of the page when proceedings begin shortly.

We'll bring regular text updates of the key moments here too.

Image source, Getty Images

Rachel Millward, the deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has condemned the anti-small boats protests seen over the weekend.

Speaking to BBC Two's Politics Live, she said: "These are not British values and not something we want to see."

She said the "crisis of small boats" needs to be sorted out by "providing legal, safe, managed routes for people who are fleeing genocide, war, persecution".

"It is horrifying for me that the first experience they might have on British shores is such an aggressive one," she added.

Tracking vessels that were monitoring Portsmouth migrant boatpublished at 15:57 BST

15:57 BST

By Barbara Metzler

BBC Verify has been using ship-tracking websites to monitor activity in the English Channel at the time the migrant boat made its crossing on 6 September.

We can’t track the boat but we have been monitoring the rescue vessels which the French authorities say were involved in monitoring it.

At around 03:00 BST on Sunday morning we can see four French vessels meeting up in the Baie de la Seine - where the boat had been sighted - and moving north into the English Channel towards UK waters.

Around 06:40 their paths split and two vessels - Amiral de Tourville and Abeille Liberté - continue moving north together.

Then, close to 12:25, the two French rescue vessels enter the area of the Channel where UK authorities have responsibility for conducting search and rescue operations.

On the UK side, two RNLI lifeboats were dispatched from the Isle of Wight - from Bembridge at 10:11 and Yarmouth shortly afterwards.

At around 12:34 all four vessels come into close vicinity about halfway across the Channel, with the Yarmouth lifeboat and Amiral de Tourville coming particularly close.

At 13:00 both RNLI lifeboats head towards the UK and arrive at 17:11 in the Langstone Channel near Portsmouth.

Image source, Reuters

Portsmouth City Council leader Steve Pitt says coaches of migrants were eventually able to leave the city early on Monday morning for processing after Sunday's protests.

The Liberal Democrat also criticises the decision to allow people to be escorted into Portsmouth in the first place.

"The council wasn’t asked about the decision to land the lifeboats in Portsmouth. This was entirely a decision taken by UK Border Force, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Home Office," he says.

“It was a completely unsuitable location to bring the boats ashore, this entire situation was avoidable and has brought needless disruption to our city."

As a result, he says the Home Office has "serious questions to answer" over a "lack of planning, inconsistent decision-making and ultimately, poor judgement".

"They put people at risk. This cannot happen again," he says.

The BBC has contacted the Home Office for comment.

Image source, Reuters

As coastguard boats carrying migrants arrived in Portsmouth on Sunday night, protesters gathered firstly to attempt stop them landing, then to prevent buses carrying migrants from leaving for processing centres.

Here's how events have unfolded since:

• A Home Office update confirmed that 625 migrants on eight boats were brought to shore at Dover and Portsmouth on Sunday
• A police investigation is underway to identify offenders after police, coastguard and border force vehicles were damaged and a small number of officers were treated at the scene of protests for injuries
• Meanwhile Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones says that while the protest in Portsmouth was "largely" peaceful, the scenes were a "wake-up call to the government" that "British people are fed up with the lack of control of our borders"
• One local witness says the protest has left her feeling "genuinely unsettled", while another calls them "an absolute shock and a real worry"
• Events in Portsmouth followed a road blockage in Dover's port on Saturday; our UK correspondent has more on the man who appears to be behind the demonstrations - an activist known to supporters as Danny Tommo
• Minister Emma Reynolds condemned "thuggish" and "intimidating" behaviour that she saw displayed but accepted people have "legitimate concerns" about immigration
• The number of people crossing the English Channel by small boat has fallen by 43% in the year between 1 January and 5 September 2026 compared to the same period in the previous year, but thousands still arrive in the UK each year

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

The Home Office has just released the latest figures on small-boat crossings: 625 people were brought to shore at Dover and - unusually - Portsmouth yesterday.

They made the journey in eight boats.

We know there have been further arrivals today - with around 140 people on two boats getting to Dover in the early hours before the weather changed and became much windier.

Today's numbers won't officially be confirmed until tomorrow by the government.

More than 17,000 people have reached the UK on small boats so far this year. It's a significant number, but down considerably on the same period last year.