LONDON (AP) — A group of masked men blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port on Saturday in what officials said appeared to be an anti-immigration protest.
The Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was "stopped due to an ongoing public order incident," and police said they were “engaging with the protesters.”
Video posted on social media showed several dozen men in black, 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 councilor, 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 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) traffic jam on Saturday morning. The Port of Dover said one road to the port had reopened by late morning.
P&O Ferries, which runs services between Dover and Calais in France, said passengers who missed their ferry would be offered the next available crossing.
Dover, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of London, dealt with more than 9 million passengers and 2 million freight vehicles in 2025, according to the port’s website.
The town has been the site of previous anti-immigrant protests focused on migrants who cross the Channel from France in small boats. Some politicians, including Nigel Farage of hard-right party Reform UK, have seized on the issue. He branded the asylum seekers “an invasion” in a Friday speech.
The Labour Party government says stepped-up law enforcement cooperation between Britain and France has helped reduce the number of people making the crossing this year by more than 40% compared to 2025.
Mike Tapp, a Labour lawmaker who represents Dover in Parliament, criticized “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% and we are working hard to fix the mess,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday. “Go home, enjoy your weekend/get a job.”
