Gosport migrant protest forced police to divert 999 emergency calls as dinghies land on south coast

Police officers are being diverted from frontline duties and emergency calls to manage growing anti-migrant protests as droves of dinghies land on Britain's south coast, a policing chief has warned. Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said around 200 officers from seven forces were deployed to protests in Gosport on Sunday, leaving fewer officers available for routine policing and 999 calls. The protests followed the arrival of 149 migrants on Sunday, brought ashore at the Hampshire marina after crossing the Channel from Normandy. About 300 people gathered in the town, with some protesters setting off red flares and attempting to create barriers to prevent the migrants from leaving. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say A total of 12 people were arrested during the confrontation, as several coaches carrying migrants were later escorted by police towards Kent to undergo processing. Ms Jones said the policing operation was costing her force at least £150,000 each time and involved officers from Kent, the Metropolitan Police, Sussex, Surrey, Thames Valley and Dorset. In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, she described the “substantial” cost and “significant abstraction from everyday policing” as “unsustainable”. She wrote: “Hundreds of police officers were down in Gosport yesterday and into the night. It’s just not acceptable. They weren’t then responding to 999 calls and doing what we need them to do. A total of 12 people were arrested during the protests on Sunday night | PA “Some of those officers would have been scheduled to work in 999 response teams, in neighbourhood policing teams. “Instead, because they have a skill of being public order officers, they have been taken off their normal jobs and put on public order.” The policing chief added: “It is creating vulnerability for victims in other areas of the county.” The latest arrival is believed to be the third migrant boat in a month to have departed from Normandy, rather than the more common launch points around Calais. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Channel crossings soar to 1,300 in weekend of chaos as Britain braces for hundreds more tomorrow Twelve people arrested after anti-migrant protest engulfs seaside town amid small boat arrival Two migrant men killed attempting to cross English Channel in small boat The vessel is thought to have left from near Utah Beach, east of Cherbourg, at about 6am. On the use of the RNLI in the response, Ms Jones said: “It’s not appropriate that we’re relying on a volunteer-led charity to be helping the UK police the southern sea-based border of this country. It’s completely vulnerable. “The Home Secretary could go out and lease boats today exactly the same size as the RNLI ones, put her UK Border Force staff on them and take proper control of this. “We need to make sure that we don’t keep getting these interceptions coming into places like Gosport, where we’re having people arrested." Nearly 150 migrants arrived in Gosport late Sunday evening | PA The change in launch locations is understood to reflect a wider shift in smuggling tactics, with gangs now using larger boats and launching further west along the French coast to evade increased enforcement on beaches and at sea. The dangers were highlighted yesterday when two men died after a fire broke out aboard an overcrowded boat launched from Berck, south of Boulogne. Two women also suffered serious burns. A Home Office spokesman said: “We thank everyone involved in this operational response, including the police, whose efforts were instrumental in bringing the demonstration to a safe conclusion. We will work closely with partners to ensure public safety is maintained. “The Government has established contingency plans to deal with small boat arrivals further along the coastline. Over 48,000 crossing attempts have been prevented since the election, and ongoing efforts to close every asylum hotel have saved British taxpayers more than £1billion in asylum support.” Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter