By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-06 06:55:59 | Updated at 2026-10-06 07:51:34
1 hour ago
Police officers are being diverted from frontline duties and emergency calls to manage growing anti-migrant protests as droves of dinghies land on Britain's south coast, a policing chief has warned.
Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said around 200 officers from seven forces were deployed to protests in Gosport on Sunday, leaving fewer officers available for routine policing and 999 calls.
The protests followed the arrival of 149 migrants on Sunday, brought ashore at the Hampshire marina after crossing the Channel from Normandy.
About 300 people gathered in the town, with some protesters setting off red flares and attempting to create barriers to prevent the migrants from leaving.
A total of 12 people were arrested during the confrontation, as several coaches carrying migrants were later escorted by police towards Kent to undergo processing.
Ms Jones said the policing operation was costing her force at least £150,000 each time and involved officers from Kent, the Metropolitan Police, Sussex, Surrey, Thames Valley and Dorset.
In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, she described the “substantial” cost and “significant abstraction from everyday policing” as “unsustainable”.
She wrote: “Hundreds of police officers were down in Gosport yesterday and into the night. It’s just not acceptable. They weren’t then responding to 999 calls and doing what we need them to do.
A total of 12 people were arrested during the protests on Sunday night
PA
“Some of those officers would have been scheduled to work in 999 response teams, in neighbourhood policing teams.
“Instead, because they have a skill of being public order officers, they have been taken off their normal jobs and put on public order.”
The policing chief added: “It is creating vulnerability for victims in other areas of the county.”
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