A Labour councillor for Dover District Council, Kevin Mills, criticized Kent Police for being slow to respond to a protest in Dover on Saturday that blocked roads and caused tailbacks, saying they were caught off guard by the protesters' organization. The protest, which lasted from 7:00 BST to 11:30, involved hundreds of masked men chanting "stop the boats" and prevented access to the Port of Dover. No arrests were made during the protest, but its organizers have not yet been named by police. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds condemned the protest as intimidatory behavior, while Labour councillor Kevin Mills suggested that Kent Police's response was slow due to being stretched thin.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Hundreds of masked men blocked roads leading to the Port of Dover, Britain's busiest ferry port, on September 5, 2026, disrupting traffic and causing a 4-mile-long traffic jam. The protesters, who were dressed in black and wore balaclavas, chanted "stop the boats" as they blocked key roads and linked arms across routes leading to the port. The protest was described as "exceptionally well organised" by Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills, who criticized the police response for being slow.
The disruption caused delays of up to 45 minutes for passengers and cargo vehicles heading for France. P&O Ferries, which runs services between Dover and Calais in France, said its boats were running on schedule, and passengers who missed their ferry would be offered the next available crossing.
The Labour Party government condemned the protest, saying it went beyond peaceful protest. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC that while peaceful protest was an essential part of British life, the "intimidatory behaviour" witnessed in Dover was unacceptable.
The police response to the protest is also under scrutiny, with some politicians questioning whether intelligence was missed and if extra police officers could have been drafted in from the Metropolitan Police to help deal with the disorder. Former Home Office minister and Labour MP for Dover and Deal, Mike Tapp, said he would be asking these questions.
The protest has been linked to a group called Patriot Platform, which is believed to have been founded by Daniel Thomas, an associate of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Written for “Dover Port Protest Disruption” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 17 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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stop the boats
right chanting a slogan associated with anti-immigration sentiment
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send them back
right using language associated with anti-immigrant rhetoric
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The experience on the ground today, was the overwhelming majority of the women and local people we spoke to were thankful that people were actually doing something.
right a far-right activist praising protesters for their actions
Leaning score +0.85 for article 5572 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-06
- Published
Police were slow to react to an "exceptionally well organised" protest that ground the Port of Dover to a halt for hours, a council boss has said.
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boss → publish → hours
Kevin Mills, who leads Dover District Council, told the BBC that demonstrators "caught several agencies on the hoof" when they arrived on Saturday.
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they → lead → Saturday
Hundreds of masked men chanting "stop the boats" blocked roads, causing miles of tailbacks and preventing access to the port.
Kent Police is yet to comment, but cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said officers "did deal with it swiftly".
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officers → chant → it
Mills said the force "appeared to be quite slow to keep the roads and the networks open, which is disappointing".
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which → say → roads
"The protesters knew what they were doing, I'm not sure the police did know what was going to happen," he told the BBC.
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he → know → BBC
"But then I accept that the police resource is stretched."
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resource → accept → ?
The Labour councillor said "no-one actually knew" what was happening on Saturday morning and there "needs to be a wash-up over that".
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what → say → that
"All in all it was a pretty traumatic day for a lot of people travelling, trying to get around their business," he said.
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he → travel → business
Kent Police said on Saturday that officers made no arrests and described it as a "spontaneous protest".
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officers → say → protest
Mills added that the council later received complaints from villagers in Preston, where "protesters appear to have parked their vehicles before they came in".
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they → add → vehicles
Chris Vinson, leader of the council's Conservative group, previously said the men had "loaded into rental vans" and then travelled to the town.
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men → say → town
Reynolds, speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, condemned the protest.
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Reynolds → speak → protest
"Peaceful protest is an essential part of British life but that is not what we saw there with that kind of intimidatory behaviour," the business secretary said.
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secretary → see → behaviour
"I feel sorry for the people around Dover and the people disrupted by that."
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I → feel → that
Police have not yet commented on who was behind the demonstration, which lasted from 07:00 BST to about 11:30.
Anti-hate organisation Hope Not Hate claimed the Patriot Platform network arranged it, saying the group began meeting in July and had brought together members of anti-migrant groups from around the country.
Demonstrators told the BBC they did not want to talk to the media, although one said "send them back" and another said "stop the boats" when approached on Saturday.
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another → comment → Saturday
Far-right activists Tommy Robinson and Danny Thomas both posted about it on X, praising those involved.
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activists → post → those
Thomas wrote: "The experience on the ground today, was the overwhelming majority of the women and local people we spoke to were thankful that people were actually doing something."
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people → write → something
He praised protesters for showing "discipline" and said they had "stuck to the plan".
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they → praise → plan
Reynolds said that Robinson and others like him were "not interested in solving genuine problems this country has".
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country → say → problems
"They want to exploit their online following and take money from the people willing to follow them online, and that's what that agenda is," he said.
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he → want → them
"This government is about solving the problems that really make a difference to people's lives."
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that → solve → lives
Great Yarmouth MP and leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, said his party "proudly stands with those peacefully protesting against illegal immigration in Dover".
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party → say → Dover
In a video on X, he said wearing balaclavas was "undesirable" but "perfectly fair for people living in this Orwellian age".
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wearing → say → age
