Masked anti-immigration protest blocks roads to Britain's Dover ferry port

Masked anti-immigration protesters blocked roads to the Port of Dover, briefly halting traffic. The disruption sparked sharp political reactions and renewed tensions over Channel crossings.Roads leading to the Port of Dover, Britain’s busiest ferry port, were blocked on Saturday by a group of masked men in what officials said appeared to be an anti-immigration protest. The disruption briefly stopped all traffic in and out of the port and led to long queues on approach roads.Police said they were engaging with the protesters, while the port said traffic had been halted because of an ongoing public order incident. By late morning, the Port of Dover said one road to the port had reopened.Videos posted on social media showed several dozen men dressed in black with their faces covered, standing across a major road near the port. One clip showed demonstrators linking arms across a main road and shouting, "stop the boats".Chris Vinson, a Conservative Party local councillor, said the protest appeared to be "illegal migration-related". "I’m not aware that there’s been any violence, although clearly, having the path of your vehicle blocked by men wearing black paramilitary gear and balaclavas is extremely intimidating," he said. The National Highways agency said the protest blocked routes to the port and caused a 6.4-kilometre traffic jam on Saturday morning. P&O Ferries, which operates services between Dover and Calais in France, said passengers who missed their ferry would be offered the next available crossing. According to the port’s website, Dover, around 110 kilometres southeast of London, handled more than 9 million passengers and 2 million freight vehicles in 2025.Dover has seen previous anti-immigrant protests centred on migrants crossing the Channel from France in small boats. Some politicians, including Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, have focused on the issue. In a speech on Friday, he described the asylum seekers as "an invasion". The Labour government has said stronger law enforcement cooperation between Britain and France has helped cut the number of people making the crossing this year by more than 40 per cent compared with 2025. Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover, criticised what he called "idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption". "I bet if you asked any one of those protesters’ they wouldn’t know small boat crossing are down by 40 per cent and we are working hard to fix the mess," he wrote on Facebook on Saturday. "Go home, enjoy your weekend/get a job." The protest disrupted access to a key transport hub, triggered political reactions and added to tensions around small boat crossings at Dover.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 5, 2026 17:00 IST