A group of protesters gathered outside a Portsmouth hotel after false information spread online claiming a coach carrying a Pakistan cricket team was transporting migrants.
Around 40 to 50 people assembled outside the Marriott Hotel in Southampton Road, Cosham, on Tuesday evening, September 8, following heightened tensions over the arrival of asylum seekers in Portsmouth.
Hampshire County Council Reform UK group leader George Madgwick attended and said protesters believed a coach at the hotel was carrying migrants.
However, hotel staff confirmed those on board were members of a Pakistan cricket team visiting the area for a series of matches.
Madgwick said he spoke directly with the team’s coach and was shown proof before addressing the crowd.
He said: “The cricket team coach came to speak to me personally and I saw proof.”
According to Madgwick, protesters accepted the explanation and dispersed within around five minutes.
The incident followed protests in Portsmouth on Sunday after around 120 asylum seekers rescued in the English Channel were brought ashore at Eastney Marina.
Police officers were reportedly attacked during those demonstrations, with the Hampshire Police Federation saying emergency workers had stones and bricks thrown at them and some officers were pushed from their bikes.
Further false claims circulated online overnight suggesting migrants were being accommodated at a Travelodge in Kingston Crescent. According to the report, hotel staff repeatedly told people commenting online that the claims were untrue.
Anti-racism campaigners condemned the Marriott gathering, while Madgwick said the incident demonstrated the consequences of tensions surrounding the continuing small-boats issue.
