RNLI vessels ferry migrants ashore<\/p>\n
Two RNLI lifeboats carrying 140 Channel migrants were denied entry to two larger ports before docking near Portsmouth, where they were met by hundreds of masked protesters.<\/p>\n
Police officers were injured and vehicles damaged during a stand-off with more than 500 balaclava-clad men after the asylum seekers were brought ashore at Eastney Landing on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The leader of Portsmouth City Council has heavily criticised the decision, claiming it had ‘put lives at risk’ and caused ‘needless disruption’.<\/p>\n
It has now emerged that two RNLI crews were barred from docking at Southampton Port and Portsmouth Harbour, with governing bodies threatening legal action if they did so.<\/p>\n
A broadcast on an open marine VHF radio revealed that Southampton Vessel Traffic Service and King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth denied the RNLI permission to enter either port or their approaches and\u00a0failure to comply could result in criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
The crews of the Bembridge and Yarmouth lifeboats therefore decided to sail several miles further along the coast and dock instead at Eastney, where the confrontation later unfolded.<\/p>\n
Large crowds blocked traffic along the road leading away from the port in an attempt to stop the migrants reaching a processing centre in Kent.\u00a0Police were seen carrying riot shields as they confronted the black-clad mob.<\/p>\n
Hampshire Police Federation claimed two officers were pushed off motorbikes, while others had bricks thrown at them.<\/p>\n
The chaos came a day after masked anti-migrant protesters blocked traffic at the Port of Dover.<\/p>\n