Fears are mounting that packed mega-dinghies of migrants could start to land all along Britain's south coast after a boat completed a 70-mile Channel crossing to Portsmouth, aided by five French vessels and two helicopters.
The inflatable carrying 140 asylum seekers set off from the Baie de Seine in Normandy yesterday, up to 300 miles by road south-west of Calais, as people smugglers launched a new route to the UK.
Their arrival in Britain sparked chaos as protesters waded into the Solent to confront them, before around 500 then blocked roads near Eastney Beach in an attempt to stop buses taking the migrants away for processing.
The flimsy 46ft dinghy had completed the 70-mile journey – the longest thought to have been attempted – across the treacherous and busy Channel to Portsmouth on Sunday, more than double the usual 34-mile crossing to Dover.
Rather than intervene, the French deployed five rescue boats and two helicopters to shadow the vessel for ten hours until it reached UK waters, claiming it was too dangerous to intercept because of the numbers on board.
British lifeboats, backed by a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, then took over for the final four hours of the crossing before bringing the migrants ashore on Sunday afternoon.
Anti-migrant demonstrators were waiting in Portsmouth and dozens even waded into the sea in an attempt to turn them back.
The group of protesters sprinted across Eastney Beach and into the water yesterday afternoon, chanting 'stop the boats' and 'enough is enough' as migrants arrived aboard a Coastguard vessel.
The incident – the second in two days after hundreds of men wearing balaclavas blockaded the Port of Dover on Saturday – was the flashpoint which triggered around 500 demonstrators to block the road to try to stop the coaches leaving Portsmouth.
After being dispersed by riot police in the early hours of this morning, some got into cars and followed the buses on their journey to the facility in Kent.
Hampshire Police have said a small number of officers suffered injuries and have launched an investigation to identify the culprits.
They added that a number of police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged during the protest.
It came as the Home Office confirmed 625 arrivals on eight small boats yesterday.
An infrared image taken by a French lifeboat crew that shadowed but did not stop a dinghy carrying 140 migrants that was later taken to Portsmouth
Lifejackets dumped by migrants by the road at Eastney Beach, where the migrants arrived, are collected by locals
The migrants were brought ashore by RNLI vessels
The landing sparked protests which saw demonstrators clash with riot police until they were dispersed in the early hours of this morning
The migrants had set off from Jobourg, around an hour west of the sands of Pouppeville – better known as Utah Beach where American forces landed on D-Day.
Rather than turn the boat around in French waters, the authorities' 'safety operation' involved handing out lifejackets to everyone on board, including 20 women and eight 'very young children'.
The inflatable eventually reached Eastney intact on Sunday afternoon, with no injuries reported after 14 hours at sea.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police crime commissioner Donna Jones said it would be a 'significant issue' for the country if people smugglers began shifting their destinations away from Dover.
Details of the extraordinary voyage emerged on Monday, when a senior search and rescue operative in France described how the mega-dinghy left the isolated Normandy beach.
'It was in the very early hours of Sunday morning then it pushed off from the beach, with everyone on board,' he said. 'Jobourg is not patrolled by police, because nobody would expect a boat to leave from such an isolated, rocky spot.
'Within an hour of so the boat was in serious difficulty, and passengers on board made Mayday calls on their mobile phones.'
The outboard motor on the 46ft (14m) boat had failed, meaning she was drifting dangerously around 14 miles off the coast.
It was then that five French vessels were sent – the Amiral de Tourville lifeboat, the President Jules Pinteaux and Philippe Keigger fast patrol boats, the Jacques Armengaud rescue boat, and the high-seas tug Abeille Liberté [Liberty Bee].
With them was a French Navy H-160 helicopter, and a Dragon 50 civil security chopper.
The Abeille Liberté got closest to the stricken boat, and found 'all on board packed closely together, and clearly in some distress', said the search and rescue source.
'We asked them who wanted to be rescued, and the answer was no one,' said the source. 'There were 20 women and eight children among them, and they clearly caused the most concern.
'Only a few migrants were wearing life jackets, so we handed out jackets to all of them. It seemed incomprehensible that they were risking their lives without life jackets.'
The source continued: 'A second outboard motor was made to work, so the boat could continue on its voyage to Britain.'
By 1.30pm on Sunday, the craft was 38 miles from France, and heading towards British waters, where it was finally joined by an RNLI boat from Yarmouth, on the Isle of Wight, and a British aircraft.
'The British boats finally saw the inflatable safely to England,' said the source, who added that he and his colleagues were not legally entitled to stop the mega-dinghy at sea.
The French authorities confirmed it was the first time that an immigrant boat has attempted to reach the UK from such a distance.
A spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea said the escort operation had been essential 'for safety reasons'.
He said: 'The situation had to be monitored, in preparation for rescues if necessary. Those on board were determined to reach the UK.
'Given the structural fragility of these consistently overloaded vessels, the decision was made not to force migrants on to state rescue boats, so as to avoid endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck.'
Clips posted online later showed asylum seekers being ushered off lifeboats to shore in the UK, where they were met by several buses which took them to a processing centre in Kent.
It is the second major UK anti-migrant protest in two days after the Port of Dover was shut down on Saturday.
More than 500 protesters gathered on the Hampshire coastline and dozens entered the sea four miles from Britain's Royal Navy headquarters to demand the asylum seekers be returned to France.
Following calls to action on social media, protesters flocked to the coast and spent at least five hours on the beach and in the water.
They then attempted to stop the migrants being taken to Kent in a demonstration that went on until 3am on Monday, when police threatened arrests after a dispersal order was imposed.
The protest is thought to have been spearheaded by Daniel Thomas, pictured as the migrants landed, a Tommy Robinson associate from Portsmouth
A protester in the water as around 140 migrants who were brought into Portsmouth
Hundreds later blocking roads until around 3am as they tried to stop migrants being taken by bus to Kent for processing
After being dispersed by riot police, some protesters got into cars and followed coaches and vans taking the asylum seekers to Kent
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The last 24 hours have seen multiple violations of the UK border by mega dinghies full of illegal immigrants which the French authorities have allowed to depart.
'Andy Burnham and Shabana Mahmood have been boasting about French action, but hundreds of illegal immigrants arriving in just a few hours shows this is not working
'Their weak approach is leaving our border wide open, with almost 20,000 illegal immigrants crossing so far this year. Only rough seas have prevented even more crossings.'
In protest footage shared on social media, a riot officer appeared to be pushed from his motorbike as demonstrators, many wearing caps and hoods, shouted: 'Shame on you.'
Further clips showed officers carrying shields ordering the crowd to 'get back' before pushing some protesters away from a nearby police van.
The protest is thought to have been spearheaded by Daniel Thomas, an associate of hard-Right agitator Tommy Robinson from Hampshire whose Patriot Platform group organised a mass demonstration in Dover on Saturday.
Livestreaming the protest Thomas – also known as Danny Tommo – yesterday said: 'It was only [on Saturday in Dover] when we warned them that we will not accept this any more, and that it is no longer an option to tell us the boat numbers are down.
'This isn't about the numbers being down. This is about understanding that this has to come to an end now.'
Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf visited Eastney today.
Danny Tommo was also there and interrupted one of his interviews from the scene.
Mr Yusuf told Thomas to ensure there was no violence from his group towards the police. He said: 'I just want to make that really clear, just so that we're really clear about this, right? There is never any excuse for violence against police officers who are doing their job. They are taking orders, and that is what it is.'
Mr Thomas said there was no violence in Dover and when questioned about his group's masks and attire being intimidating said: 'The reason people felt potentially intimidated was because of the faces covered. I've made that point very clear.
'The only reason they've done that is because no one wants to be labelled far Right.'
Mr Thomas, who founded Patriot Platform in July, dashed around the large crowd of reporters and said: 'You have to understand, Yusuf, that what we're trying to do and the reason the Patriot Platform has been created is not because of violence. We're not looking to intimidate anyone.
'Let me start by first explaining to you why the men are wearing masks. As you know, and as Nigel [Farage] knows, the Left in this country target us massively. We have working-class men who are bricklayers, who are roofers, who are carpenters, who build the houses that you live in. They build the roads that you drive on. They do all of that stuff. The reason they're covering their faces is because we know they're going to be targeted.'
He added: 'What Nigel Farage has done is not good. When you call people disgusting, yeah, you have to understand the reasons of why this is happening.'
Protesters gathered on the beach - and some waded in to the water try to disrupt the arrival as migrants were brought in on RNLI boats
Several coaches were lined up next to the beach ready to take the migrants away for processing
Riot police were deployed to the scene, although no arrests were thought to have been made
Crowds stayed in the area until the early hours today
Unlike in Dover, the hundreds of protesters this time chose not to wear masks or balaclavas, although many were dressed in black.
The Baie de Seine to Portsmouth crossing is thought to have been one of the longest ever people-smuggling trips.
HM Coastguard sent two lifeboats, a helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft and rescue teams to ensure the asylum seekers reached the British shore safely.
In some clips riot officers appear to be sprayed with water from super-soakers as dozens watching on record them on their phones.
Thomas, who livestreamed the event on YouTube, was heard urging his supporters to 'get in your cars and get down here' as he stood waist-deep in the sea.
Separate footage meanwhile appeared to show a woman delivering supplies to protesters via canoe.
The authorities in France have said that it is unusual for a migrant boat to depart from the Baie de Seine, nearly 200 miles from the usual launches.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: 'In response to a report on September 6 of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, HM Coastguard sent lifeboats, an HM Coastguard helicopter, an HM Coastguard aeroplane and HM Coastguard Rescue Teams.
'Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and South Central Ambulance Service were also sent.'
Councillor George Madgwick, leader of Reform UK in Hampshire, wrote in a post on X that 'over 100 migrant men' had arrived in Portsmouth.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage meanwhile posted: 'A boat launched from Baie de Seine, 170 miles from Calais, arrived on the beaches of Hampshire for the very first time. This is a joke. Only Reform will send the boats back.'
Migrants scramble on board a dinghy in an attempt to cross the Channel yesterday in a separate incident at Gravelines, near Calais
Commissioner Donna Jones said officers from other forces were brought in to help amid fears this 'is just the start' of protests.
She said: 'Last night we had mutual aid, public order police officers sent from police forces across the country including the Metropolitan Police Service.
'We also had a number of our own police officers, obviously, from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary trying to take back control of the roads, forming a line and holding a few hundred protesters back.
'This is just the start, if this continues, these numbers will grow from the protesters. They were making their point that they don't want Portsmouth to become a destination'.
She said it will be a 'significant issue' for the Government if people traffickers shift their destinations across England's south coast.
The crossing to Portsmouth came in the same week Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron met to discuss how to 'scale up' efforts to reduce small boat crossings.
Only last month, a small boat carrying record numbers of migrants – believed to be more than 230 – successfully crossed the English Channel.
And earlier this week hundreds of anti-migrant protesters donning balaclavas brought the Port of Dover to a standstill. Demonstrators were chanting 'stop the boats' while blocking many of the town's roads.
Some of those in attendance claimed links to Thomas's anti-migrant Patriot Platform.
Kent Police were thought to have been 'unaware' that the protest was taking place, leaving them 'thin on the ground' as hundreds marched the streets of the town.
Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal and former Home Office minister, said: 'I will be looking urgently on Monday to ask questions around why we didn't know about this, because we do tend to know when protests are coming to the area, and they tend to be peaceful, and laws aren't broken, and obviously the police have the resources to manage that.
'But in this instance, it would appear that the police didn't know about it, and the resources were pretty thin on the ground, to be quite honest from what I saw. We know that laws were broken because they were blocking the roads and wearing face coverings.'
On Saturday, masked protesters blocked roads leading to the port in Dover, causing tailbacks and a number of travellers to miss their ferries
In response, Kent Police told the Daily Mail it was a 'spontaneous event and was policed accordingly'.
Police made no arrests and escorted the protesters to Dover Priory train station at around midday.
At least 100 people were seen boarding a train to Ramsgate, with some since spotted in nearby Sandwich where 'police are in attendance'.
Hard-Right Patriot Platform was founded earlier this year by Daniel Thomas, a convicted kidnapper and associate of Tommy Robinson.
Sharing clips of the protest in Dover to his social media, Thomas wrote: 'It's time. Protect Our Country! And more importantly, our women and children! This is our warning.'
Government minister Emma Reynolds today called the 500 protesters 'thuggish and intimidating'.
The Treasury Chief Secretary said: 'I absolutely support people's right to peaceful protest. But this crosses a line and I just want to take the opportunity to thank the police and other emergency services who have brought this under control.'
A Government spokesman said: 'We condemn the intimidating and thuggish behaviour we are seeing tonight.
'The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must never cross a line into disorder.
'We thank the emergency services who are working to safely manage this situation.'
Hampshire Constabulary said: 'This evening, we have been working alongside and assisting our partners from Border Force, Maritime & Coastguard Agency and Portsmouth City Council at Eastney Marina following the arrival of a boat crossing the channel.
'We have officers in the area to ensure the prevention of any disorder. We ask that people please avoid the area. A dispersal order is in place until tomorrow evening. Anyone who refuses to comply with the direction to leave the area is liable for arrest.
'We can also confirm that Border Force has advised us that Individuals will be transported outside of Hampshire for processing in the normal way after they have been safely disembarked.'