Masked men protesting in English port of Dover disrupt cross-Channel traffic

A group of masked men blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port on Saturday in what officials said appeared to be an anti-immigration protest.

The Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was “stopped due to an ongoing public order incident,” and police said they were “engaging with the protesters.”

Video posted on social media showed several dozen men in black, their faces covered, standing across a major road near the port. One clip showed demonstrators linking arms across a main road and shouting “stop the boats.”

Chris Vinson, a Conservative Party local councilor, said the protest appeared to be “illegal migration-related.”

“I’m not aware that there’s been any violence, although clearly, having the path of your vehicle blocked by men wearing black paramilitary gear and balaclavas is extremely intimidating,” he said.

The National Highways agency said the protest blocked routes to the port and caused a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) traffic jam on Saturday morning. The Port of Dover said one road to the port had reopened by late morning.

P&O Ferries, which runs services between Dover and Calais in France, said passengers who missed their ferry would be offered the next available crossing.

Dover, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of London, dealt with more than 9 million passengers and 2 million freight vehicles in 2025, according to the port’s website.

The town has been the site of previous anti-immigrant protests focused on migrants who cross the Channel from France in small boats. Some politicians, including Nigel Farage of hard-right party Reform UK, have seized on the issue. He branded the asylum seekers “an invasion” in a Friday speech.

The Labour Party government says stepped-up law enforcement cooperation between Britain and France has helped reduce the number of people making the crossing this year by more than 40% compared to 2025.

Mike Tapp, a Labour lawmaker who represents Dover in Parliament, criticized “idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption.”

“I bet if you asked any one of those ‘protesters’ they wouldn’t know small boat crossing are down by 40% and we are working hard to fix the mess,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday. “Go home, enjoy your weekend/get a job.”

周六，一群蒙面男子封锁了通往英国最繁忙的渡轮港口的道路，官员称这似乎是一场反移民抗议活动。

多佛港表示，由于正在发生的公共秩序事件，所有进出港交通都已“停止”，警方表示他们正在“与抗议者进行交涉”。

社交媒体上发布的视频显示，数十名身穿黑衣、蒙面的男子站在港口附近的一条主要道路上。其中一段视频显示，示威者手挽着手站在主干道上，高喊“阻止船只”。

保守党地方议员克里斯·文森表示，这场抗议似乎与“非法移民有关”。

“我并不了解是否发生了任何暴力事件，但很显然，车辆行驶路线被身穿黑色准军事装备、头戴巴拉克拉瓦帽的男子挡住，这非常令人恐惧，”他说。

英国国家公路管理局表示，抗议活动封锁了通往港口的道路，导致周六上午出现长达 6.4 公里（4 英里）的交通拥堵。多佛港方面表示，通往港口的一条道路已于上午晚些时候重新开放。

运营多佛和法国加莱之间航线的 P&O 渡轮公司表示，错过渡轮的乘客将被安排乘坐下一班可用的渡轮。

据该港口网站显示，多佛港位于伦敦东南约 70 英里（110 公里）处，预计 2025 年将接待超过 900 万名乘客和 200 万辆货运车辆。

该镇此前曾发生过反移民抗议活动，矛头直指乘坐小船从法国穿越英吉利海峡的移民。一些政客，包括极右翼政党“改革英国”的奈杰尔·法拉奇，都抓住了这一问题大做文章。他在周五的演讲中将这些寻求庇护者称为“入侵者”。

工党政府表示，英国和法国加强执法合作，使得今年偷渡人数比 2025 年减少了 40% 以上。

代表多佛选区的工党议员迈克·塔普批评说：“一些白痴来到多佛制造混乱。”

“我敢打赌，如果你问那些‘抗议者’中的任何一个，他们都不会知道小船渡河的次数已经减少了40%，而且我们正在努力解决这个问题，”他周六在脸书上写道。“回家好好享受你的周末/去找份工作吧。”