UK gov’t condemns masked anti-immigrant protesters blocking Dover port

Ferry traffic at UK’s largest international port was briefly halted as ‘stop the boats’ protesters blocked approaching roads.

'Stop the boats' masked protesters block England's Port of Dover

Dozens of masked anti-immigration protesters have blocked access to the port of Dover, briefly halting ferry traffic between England and France.

Images shared online showed dozens of demonstrators dressed in black and wearing balaclavas streaming onto roads surrounding the port.

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In an online livestream that appeared to be shot by one of the protesters, a crowd of black-clothed men chanted “stop the boats” as they faced a line of police.

The government condemned the action, saying it went beyond peaceful protest.

On Saturday morning, the Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was “stopped due to an ongoing public order incident”. At around noon, port managers said traffic was “free flowing” once again. P&O Ferries also confirmed that access to the port had been restored.

Local police said they were “engaging” with protesters, who had initially blocked “all routes” in and out of the terminal, used by ferries connecting southern England to northern France.

The National Highways agency said the protest blocked roads to the port and caused a 6.4km traffic jam on Saturday morning.

Local Conservative Party councillor, Chris Vinson, 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 Labour government said “the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but we condemn the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused”.

“We appreciate the frustration of those who have been impacted today,” the government statement said.

Britain is grappling with how to curb the perilous and politically contentious small-boat crossings, which in recent years have seen tens of thousands of migrants arriving annually on the shores of southeast England.

The issue has been relentlessly seized upon by the hard-right Reform UK party, which surged in popularity on the back of growing anti-immigration sentiment.

The centre-left Labour government has said that the number of boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers across the Channel was the lowest this summer since 2019, in part because of cooperation deals with the French government.

Dover is Britain’s largest international ferry port. During summer months there, it handles more than 10,000 freight vehicles and 15,000 passenger vehicles a day, accounting for a third of Britain’s goods trade with the European Union.

About 110km southeast of London, Dover handled more than nine million passengers and two million freight vehicles last year, according to the port’s website.

由于“阻止船只”抗议者封锁了通往港口的道路，英国最大的国际港口的渡轮交通一度中断。

蒙面抗议者封锁英国多佛港，高呼“阻止船只入境”。

数十名蒙面反移民抗议者封锁了多佛港，导致英格兰和法国之间的渡轮交通短暂中断。

网上流传的图片显示，数十名身穿黑衣、头戴巴拉克拉法帽的示威者涌上港口周围的道路。

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（共3条记录，此为第3条）也门塔伊兹附近胡塞武装导弹袭击造成至少4名平民死亡。

在一段似乎是由一名抗议者拍摄的在线直播视频中，一群身穿黑衣的男子面对着一排警察，高喊着“阻止船只”。

政府谴责了这一行动，称其已超出和平抗议的范畴。

周六上午，多佛港表示，由于持续发生的公共秩序事件，所有进出港口的交通“暂停”。中午前后，港口管理人员表示交通已恢复“畅通”。P&O渡轮公司也证实，港口的通行已恢复。

当地警方表示，他们正在与抗议者“接触”，这些抗议者最初封锁了进出码头的“所有路线”，该码头是连接英格兰南部和法国北部的渡轮的必经之路。

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6.4公里的交通堵塞。

当地保守党议员克里斯·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。

工党政府表示，“和平抗议的权利是我们民主的根本，但我们谴责多佛的行为及其造成的交通中断”。

政府声明称：“我们理解今天受到影响的人们的沮丧之情。”

英国正努力应对如何遏制危险且在政治上备受争议的小船偷渡行为。近年来，每年都有数万名移民通过这种偷渡方式抵达英格兰东南部海岸。

这个问题一直被极右翼的英国改革党（Reform UK）不遗余力地利用，该党在日益高涨的反移民情绪的推动下迅速崛起。

中间偏左的工党政府表示，今年夏天载着移民和寻求庇护者穿越英吉利海峡的船只数量是自 2019 年以来最低的，部分原因是与法国政府达成了合作协议。

多佛是英国最大的国际渡轮港口。夏季，该港口每天处理超过1万辆货车和1.5万辆客车，占英国与欧盟货物贸易的三分之一。

据该港口网站显示，多佛港位于伦敦东南约 110 公里处，去年接待了超过 900 万名乘客和 200 万辆货运车辆。