Key facts
- Police in Portsmouth banned face masks and balaclavas at protests under new powers.
- The measures were enacted at 10:00 BST on Saturday.
- Anti-migrant protesters and counter-protesters marched to Guildhall Square.
- Previous protests saw damage to police, coastguard, and Border Force vehicles.
- Simon Magorian of Stand up to Racism Portsmouth described previous demonstrations as a 'horrible spectacle'.
Police in Portsmouth implemented new powers to ban face masks and balaclavas at protests on Saturday, following disorder at previous demonstrations. The measures, which came into effect at 10:00 BST, were introduced under the Crime and Policing Act by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary to prevent people involved in protest activity from concealing their identity.
Several hundred anti-migrant protesters, some wearing Portsmouth Patriot branded clothing, gathered outside All Saints Church on Commercial Road, chanting "stop the boats" as they marched towards Guildhall Square. Shortly after, a counter-protest organized by Stand up to Racism, with about 300 participants, also marched to the square. Police kept the two groups apart.
The protests follow disruptions on September 6, when hundreds of demonstrators blocked roads at Eastney Marina in an attempt to prevent coaches carrying 120 migrants, who had arrived in a dinghy, from leaving the city. During that disruption, police vehicles, along with those of the coastguard and Border Force, were damaged, and a small number of officers received treatment for injuries.
Simon Magorian of Stand up to Racism Portsmouth described the earlier demonstrations as a "horrible spectacle" and stated their aim was to oppose what they called a "fascist street movement." Pete Davies, an anti-migration protester, expressed a desire for migrants to be returned to France, citing concerns about benefits and housing.