Small boat arrivals in the English Channel have fuelled fresh protests and arrests in England after 781 people reached the UK in a single day, amid growing political tension over asylum seekers.
The latest surge came as footage appeared to show a man leaving a young child in the water while attempting to board an inflatable boat from a French beach. French rescuers quickly lifted the child from the sea and placed them on a surf-ski.
The scenes have prompted calls for a right-wing rally, despite claims from the UK Government that it is working to reduce the number of Channel crossings.
Protests and arrests after boat landings
Demonstrations intensified after two dinghies reached beaches near Portsmouth on Tuesday, avoiding Border Force surveillance in the busy Channel. Six people were arrested, with three later charged, according to Hampshire Police.
Shannon Dodds, 32, was charged with two counts of assault for allegedly attacking an emergency services worker. Sally Pearson, 31, was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence and assaulting an emergency worker, while Toby Matthews, 33, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker.
Protest organiser Danny Tommo, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, was arrested on Wednesday night after using a knife to slash an inflatable boat in the Channel while at least one emergency responder was still on board.
Police said the boat had been damaged while an emergency responder was aboard. Tommo shared a video of the incident on social media and was held on suspicion of destroying a boat and endangering personal safety.
When news emerged that he was being held in Basingstoke, supporters were urged on social media to gather outside the town’s police station and demand his release.
Among those calling for a demonstration was Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. He has described small boat arrivals as an “invasion” and previously encouraged protests outside hotels being used to accommodate migrants.
Robinson was convicted of assault in the past and was jailed for seven months in 2024 for breaching a High Court injunction that barred him from repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee.
781 people arrive in one day
On Wednesday, asylum seekers rushed towards 10 boats from beaches in northern France. British authorities confirmed that 781 people arrived in the UK that day, compared with 154 on three boats on Tuesday and 150 on three boats on Monday.
Most small inflatable boats are intercepted in open water by Border Force officers, who transfer those aboard to UK vessels and take them to a detention centre at Dover. The two boats that reached beaches near Portsmouth were among those to evade that operation.
Footage from Wednesday showed a man carrying a young child in a life vest through waves towards an inflatable boat. The child appeared to go limp after being hit by the waves, and the man left the child floating beside the boat as he tried to climb aboard.
French rescuers approached and removed the child from the water. One appeared to try to keep the man with the child, but he joined the other asylum seekers on the boat.
