Ministers are facing criticism over proposals to turn a historic sea fort into a processing centre for small boat migrants, despite its location less than a mile from what is expected to become Britain’s largest immigration detention facility.
Residents in Gosport, near the naval city of Portsmouth, fear the town is being transformed into the “capital” of the small boat crisis and could see a repeat of the violent protests that have erupted in recent weeks.
Fort Blockhouse, built in the 19th century to defend the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, is being considered as a reception centre under contingency plans for handling small boats arriving across the Channel in Hampshire.
Most small boats have traditionally headed towards Kent. However, people smugglers have recently altered their routes, launching vessels from Normandy towards Hampshire instead — a longer and more hazardous crossing.
Tensions erupted in Gosport on Tuesday after convicted criminal-turned anti-migrant activist “Danny Tommo” told supporters that 50 small boat migrants were due to be brought ashore in the town.
Border Force vessels diverted the migrants to Dover to avoid the crowd. Violence nevertheless broke out in Gosport, resulting in six arrests, while police escorts were needed for three coaches waiting to transport the asylum seekers.
The town is already home to Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), which shut a decade ago but is due to reopen following an expansion. The three-storey facility is expected to accommodate 600 foreign criminals and migrants without legal status.
Local tensions over illegal migration remain high. Nearby Portsmouth Lifeboat Station was recently forced to suspend its operations after volunteers faced physical and online abuse.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, warned that establishing another processing centre at Fort Blockhouse could encourage more illegal migration to Britain.
Fort Blockhouse, built in the 19th century to defend the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, is being considered as a reception centre for small boat migrants
Gosport is already home to Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), which closed a decade ago but is due to reopen after being expanded to house 600 foreign criminals and migrants without legal status
Protesters, some wearing masks, gathered in Gosport on Tuesday as small boat migrants were expected to dock there
“This week’s chaotic scenes reinforced the case made by local police, council leaders and me that Portsmouth Harbour is an unsuitable disembarkation point for migrant boats,” she told Our News Outlet.
“Hopefully, any future Channel crossings towards our area will be taken directly to Kent, where processing facilities are already in place.
“We do not have the necessary facilities or transport infrastructure, and opening additional sites here would simply incentivise more illegal boats to attempt this perilous journey from France.”
Lesley Cox, a 78-year-old local resident, said she was “disgusted” by the proposal involving Fort Blockhouse.
“We weren’t told about Fort Blockhouse. It’s the secrecy surrounding it all. Why isn’t it being discussed openly? I’ve lived in Gosport for 30 years and I’m definitely seeing it become the UK capital for illegal migrants.
“Immigration has always taken place in the area and it hasn’t been a problem, but now it’s changing out of all proportion.
“I have to think about my family and the impact this will have. My eldest son served in the Navy and fought for this country — and you have to ask, what for?”
Cllr Zoe Huggins, leader of Gosport Borough Council, has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to formally object to the proposal.
She said the area has already seen a series of anti-immigration protests, including an incident on September 6 when 200 people gathered at nearby Eastney beach to confront 140 migrants being brought ashore from a packed dinghy.
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‘We should learn from these events when considering potential locations and ensure that the characteristics and constraints of each site are properly understood and researched before decisions are made,’ she told Ms Mahmood.
Ms Huggins pointed out that Fort Blockhouse is located on a peninsula with only one route out, which would make it easy for protesters to block any coaches attempting to leave the site.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police near Eastney beach in Portsmouth earlier this month after a dinghy carrying 140 asylum seekers was escorted to the shore
Migrants try to board a small boat off the beach of Equihen-Plage in northern France in a bid to cross the Channel
Across town, near Haslar IRC, residents complain that their lives have been made ‘hell’ by two years of ‘constant’ building work beginning in the early hours of the morning.
It is being refurbished after shutting down in 2015 following a parliamentary review, which highlighted immigration detention as ‘expensive and damaging to detainees’.
The newly expanded facility will have 600 beds for detained men, who will be unable to leave the centre or access the local area.
Vick, a local resident and member of the armed forces, who did not want to give her surname, said the IRC expansion and fort conversion could lead to further unrest in the local area.
She said: ‘I’m not against the IRC being used in its current capacity. It’s good for job opportunities in Gosport. But the additional 600 I don’t agree with.
‘I’m worried about the number of migrants in the area attracting trouble – not just because of them but also the so-called “patriots” it’s been attracting.
‘They were up and down the street the other night when that small boat was brought in from the Channel.’
Colin, another armed forces member, said: ‘If I’m honest I’d prefer it’s all down there at the fort rather than spread between there and the IRC.
‘It’s going to cost so much to refurbish them both when costs for redoing sites is already astronomical for the MOD.’
Amid growing concerns over Labour’s response to the small boat crisis, this week has seen two dinghies reach UK shores without being intercepted by Border Force.
The deepening crisis in the Channel saw 781 migrants arrive on Wednesday – the highest daily tally this year.
With a further 44 arrivals on Thursday, it pushed the total since the 2024 general election to 83,323 – passing the British Army’s 83,000 soldiers, said Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.
The figures will be embarrassing for Ms Mahmood, who claimed on September 2: ‘We are boosting officer numbers to record highs to crack down on small-boat launches and the gangs behind them. This work is bearing fruit.’
Danny Tommo, real name Daniel Thomas, was denied bail on Friday having pleaded not guilty to criminal damage after he was filmed allegedly using a knife to slash a dinghy used by migrants to cross the Channel to Britain.
The 37-year-old also pleaded not guilty to failing to disclose the PIN for his mobile phone to police, contrary to Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Thomas appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning, with Tommy Robinson attending to support his friend.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.’
