Dozens of men in black, their faces covered by balaclavas, poured onto the roads around the port of Dover on Saturday and stopped ferry traffic between England and France. Video from the scene showed them chanting “stop the boats” as they faced a line of police.
At one point the Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was “stopped due to an ongoing public order incident.” National Highways said the protesters blocked every route to the port and caused a traffic jam of 6.4 kilometers (4 miles). Police said they were “engaging with the protesters.”
By just before noon the road was open again. P&O Ferries said access had been restored, and the port said traffic was “free flowing.” P&O, which runs services between Dover and Calais, said passengers who missed a ferry would get the next available crossing. Police were later filmed following protesters toward Dover’s railway station.
The size of the crowd was disputed. Early accounts spoke of dozens, but local Conservative councillor Chris Vinson said several hundred people took part and called the protest “illegal migration-related.” He was not aware of any violence. “Clearly, having the path of your vehicle blocked by men wearing black paramilitary gear and balaclavas is extremely intimidating,” he said.
Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, wrote on X that “patriots have mobilised to close down the port.”
Government response
The Labour government condemned the blockade. “The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, but we condemn the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it has caused,” it said. “We appreciate the frustration of those who have been impacted today.”
Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover, was blunter. He wrote on Facebook about “idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption” and said that if anyone asked the protesters, they would not know that small boat crossings are down by 40%. “Go home, enjoy your weekend/get a job,” he wrote.
The wider dispute
More than 40,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government says tighter law enforcement cooperation with France has cut crossings so far this year by more than 40% compared with 2025. The hard-right Reform UK party has seized on the issue. Nigel Farage of Reform, in a speech on Friday, called the asylum seekers “an invasion.”
Dover is Britain’s largest international ferry port, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of London. It handled more than 9 million passengers and 2 million freight vehicles in 2025, according to its website. In summer it handles more than 10,000 freight vehicles and 15,000 passenger vehicles a day, roughly a third of Britain’s goods trade with the European Union. The town has seen anti-immigrant protests before.
Sources
- UK gov’t condemns masked anti-immigrant protesters blocking Dover port
- Masked men block roads into Dover port in England in apparent anti-immigrant protest
- U.K. government condemns masked anti-immigrant protesters who blocked Dover port
