Three charged with assaulting emergency workers at Gosport anti-migrant protest
Two women and a man face charges after six arrests at an anti-migrant protest in Gosport. The incident follows wider concerns over Border Force failures on the Kent coast.
Three charged after assaults on emergency workers at Gosport protest
Three people have been charged with assaulting emergency workers following anti-migrant protests in Gosport, The Independent reports.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary deployed officers to the town on Tuesday after hundreds of people gathered amid initial reports that a small boat was due to disembark there. Police described their aim as policing a peaceful protest. Six people were arrested in total.
Shannon Dodds, 32, of Gosport, faces two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker. Sally Pearson, 31, also from Gosport, has been charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker and a racially aggravated public order offence. Both have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Toby Matthews, 33, of Forton Road, Gosport, has been charged with common assault of an emergency worker and bailed to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on 9 November.
Two further men — a 19-year-old and a 36-year-old, both from Salisbury, Wiltshire — were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and bailed until 22 December. A 67-year-old man from Gosport received a fixed penalty notice for driving without due care and attention; he was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and similarly bailed until 22 December.
The events in Gosport coincide with renewed pressure on the government over Channel crossings. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review after two migrant boats reached the Kent coast undetected on successive days.
On Tuesday afternoon, 21 people were detained after a boat arrived on the beach at Samphire Hoe, Dover. A dinghy had also made it ashore at Folkestone undetected on Monday — the first such incident in a year, according to The Independent. The Home Office did not confirm whether additional people from the Dover boat were being sought.
The review will examine both incidents and assess Border Security Command's surveillance and interception methods. The command had previously indicated that new technology and improved resources had made undetected landings a thing of the past.
Ms Mahmood described the failure to intercept the two boats as "not acceptable". The government has faced broader criticism over its handling of Channel crossings, with some calling for Royal Navy deployment to assist interception efforts.
Source: The Independent