A pair of BBC journalists were hounded away from an anti-migrant protest after being crowded by people who said they ‘weren’t welcome’.
A video circulated on social media by the conservative campaign group Turning Point UK depicted activists confronting a journalist and camera operator at Portsmouth’s South Parade Pier on August 30.
The pier sits directly opposite the Royal Beach Hotel, which is currently being used to house asylum seekers.
‘BBC here – British Brainwarp Corporation,’ jeered the man filming the pair, among them BBC South reporter Sophie Cridland.
The cameraman asked the man filming if he’d like to be interviewed.
‘No I don’t,’ he replied.
A woman, seemingly using a megaphone, shouted ‘BBC not welcome here,’ with others soon echoing the chant, surrounding them and waving Union flags.
In response, Ms Cridland raised her hood and she, along with her colleague, approached nearby police officers for assistance while being followed by mocking protesters.
BBC journalist Sophie Cridland and a camera operator were jeered at by anti-immigration protesters as they covered a protest in Portsmouth
Ms Cridland, a BBC South journalist, put up her hood and the pair then walked away as protesters shouted: ‘BBC not welcome here’
The pair sought assistance from nearby police officers as the man filming them shouted: ‘Go on! F*** off’
The man filming the pair jabbed his finger at them as they walked away, adding: ‘Go on! F*** off!’
He then adds proudly: ‘We’ve just f***** off the BBC.’
Another woman adds: ‘Yeah, good job.’
Later, Ms Cridland reported on the protests, estimating that 150 anti-migrant demonstrators encountered a counter rally of 100 activists from Stand Up To Racism.
While she did not address the clash with the anti-immigration group, she quoted a protester who remarked, ‘I’m fed up with the way the country’s going.’
Mark, an activist with Stand Up to Racism Portsmouth, commented on the situation, describing asylum seekers as ‘men, women and children who have no choice but to live there… they just want to integrate and be part of the community.’
The BBC has hit out at what it branded the ‘completely unacceptable’ treatment of its staff in trying to report on Saturday’s protests.
A spokesperson told the Mail: ‘Our journalists and camera crews do outstanding work, often in difficult conditions. They must be able to operate safely and without interference.
‘The targeting of our team in Portsmouth during the weekend’s demonstration was completely unacceptable.
‘They should have been free to do their jobs without intimidation or threat. We stand firmly behind their right to report freely and safely.’
And Laura Davison, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, added: ‘No journalist should face aggression or intimidation whilst carrying out their duties.
‘Shameful incidents such as this highlight the ongoing crucial importance of journalistic rights and safety and of public interest journalism.
‘Valuing press freedom must include recognition that journalism can only thrive where journalists are able to report safely without bully boy tactics.’
The BBC has described the targeting of its journalists on Saturday as ‘completely unacceptable’
The video was shared online by conservative campaign group Turning Point UK, which counts recent Reform UK defector and ex-Tory MP Marco Longhi (pictured with Nigel Farage) as its honorary president
A Hampshire Police spokesperson told the Mail the protests ‘passed without any incidents being reported to police and no arrests were made.’
The video was shared across multiple social media platforms by Turning Point UK (TPUK). It was viewed 32,000 times on X, and 1.2million times on Facebook.
‘BBC journalists chased out of anti-migrant hotel protest in Portsmouth for their biased coverage,’ it said.
TPUK is an offshoot of the right-wing US organisation of the same name, and was originally set up to promote right-wing politics in UK educational establishments.
However, it has since diverged into general political campaigning and has been a proponent of ‘Operation Raise The Colours’ – the bid to display St George’s and Union flags in towns and cities across England.
The flag-raising op was the brainchild of Andrew Currien, an ally of Tommy Robinson, according to the research group Hope Not Hate.
Turning Point UK’s honorary president is former Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, a Conservative who defected to Reform UK in January.
He lost his seat to Labour contender Sonia Kumar in last year’s election.
In the run up to the election had faced accusations of ‘dog-whistle’ campaigning after his election bid team distributed leaflets to British Pakistani constituents that featured her Indian surname in capital letters and underlined.
Critics had suggested he was seeking to play on India-Pakistan tensions over the disputed Kashmir region, which both countries claim as theirs.
But he told the BBC: ‘I don’t know what her ethnicity or religious background is. I am not trying to stoke division.’
