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Masked protesters blocked roads near the Port of Dover on Saturday morning, disrupting operations at the site for several hours before services resumed.
Videos posted on social media showed groups of people dressed in black and wearing scarves and balaclavas blocking major roads to the port, which is England’s main hub for ferries to France.
At 12.30pm, the Port of Dover said that its operations had returned to normal. “All routes in and out of the port and the town are now open and traffic is moving freely,” it wrote on X.
It had earlier said that “there is an ongoing public order incident happening around the town of Dover. This is affecting all routes in and out of the port and the town”.
Ferry operator P&O said on X: “Access to the Port of Dover has been partially restored . . . Our services are operating with some delay, but we will get you on to the next available sailing.”
National Highways, which operates England’s major roads and motorways, said the eastbound A20 from Folkestone to Dover was closed because of the protest.
“Kent Police are leading the response at [the] scene. National Highways Traffic Officers are also on scene to assist with traffic management,” it said on its website, adding that local diversions were in place.
Earlier, Kent Police had said in a statement posted on X: “We are aware of a protest currently taking place at the Port of Dover. Officers are in attendance and engaging with protesters.” The force did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the situation.
Mike Tapp, Labour MP for Dover and Deal, said in a statement on Facebook that he was in touch with the police about the disturbance.
“Parkrun cancelled and port access disrupted. I am fed up with idiots coming to Dover to cause disruption,” he said. “I bet if you asked any one of those ‘protesters’ they wouldn’t know small boat crossings are down by 40 per cent and we are working hard to fix the mess. Go home, enjoy your weekend/get a job.”
Tapp, a former immigration minister, later wrote on X: “Concerns around illegal migration are not racist. I’ve said that many times. But what we saw today in Dover is against our laws and not fair on residents.”
Nigel Farage, whose rightwing Reform UK party has vowed to use the navy to turn back migrant boats in the English Channel, posted on X: “We will not rest until the boats are stopped forever.”
Rightwing activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — who goes by the alias Tommy Robinson — posted multiple videos on X encouraging people to go to Dover to protest and showing apparent stand-offs between the black-clad protesters and police.
Additional reporting by David Sheppard
