PORTSMOUTH, England — An anti-migrant protest outside the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel ended abruptly on Tuesday night after demonstrators discovered they had been misled by social media claims. The crowd, reported as numbering around 40 to 50 people, had gathered in Southampton Road, Cosham, on the evening of September 8 after false posts alleged that a coach carrying illegal migrants was at the hotel. In reality, the guests were the Pakistan under-19 cricket team, who had travelled to the United Kingdom to play a series of matches against the England squad. Witnesses said drones were flown around the hotel during the demonstration, and photographs of hotel guests taken through the windows were shared online. The protest quickly fizzled out when local councillor George Madgwick, leader of Hampshire County Council’s Reform UK group, spoke directly to those gathered and confirmed that no migrants were present. “I visited the manager and the hotel explained it was a Pakistani Cricket team staying,” Madgwick said. “The cricket team coach came to speak to me personally and I saw proof. I then went to speak to the crowd gathering of 40/50 people and confirmed with them and assured them that it was a cricket team. Immediately the crowd respectfully accepted that, called for calm and asked the rest of them to leave now. Within five minutes they were gone.”
The incident was the second eruption of anti-immigrant anger in Portsmouth in just two days. On Sunday, September 6, a protest had broken out after an RNLI lifeboat carrying 120 migrants landed at Eastney. That earlier demonstration reportedly ended with a stand-off between protesters and police, and officers are now investigating seven assaults on police that are said to have occurred during the disorder. The scenes on Sunday primed suspicion in the area and created a climate in which a simple coach outside a hotel could trigger intense speculation. Across social media, false claims spread that the migrants involved in the Eastney landing were being transported into hotels around Portsmouth for accommodation. The Marriott in Cosham became a focus point after a coach arrived and was misidentified as carrying asylum seekers. Instead, Pakistan’s national under-19 side was checking in. The eruption of anger outside the hotel highlighted the speed with which unverified information can spiral into hostile action, and raised serious questions about the treatment of guests who found themselves under surveillance by protesters flying drones and taking photographs through windows.
The same pattern of misinformation extended elsewhere in the city overnight. Social media users also circulated claims that migrants were being housed at the Travelodge in Kingston Crescent. Staff were forced to repeatedly deny the allegations, telling commenters that the account was untrue. The Marriott demonstration was therefore just one part of a wider wave of false rumours that swept through Portsmouth, prompting concerns among community leaders that ordinary Asian and black visitors could be targeted purely because of their appearance. For the Pakistan under-19 cricketers, already far from home to play a junior international series, the sound of a hostile crowd outside their hotel was a shocking welcome. Their team management spoke to Madgwick and provided evidence that the group was a sporting delegation, not a group of asylum seekers. The crowd accepted the clarification and dispersed within minutes, but the damage to the city’s reputation and to the atmosphere surrounding the cricket tour had already been done. Local residents and political figures voiced alarm that the protest had taken place at all, especially since the mobilisation was based entirely on rumour rather than fact.
Amanda Martin, the Labour MP for Portsmouth North, condemned the incident in strong terms, saying the targeting of young cricketers was deeply concerning and completely unacceptable. She said it was the duty of every public figure in Portsmouth to act on facts, to exercise judgment and restraint, and not to inflame the situation. Martin also sought to correct the wider narrative around the Eastney landing, stating clearly: “To be clear, those who arrived in Portsmouth on Sunday were transported outside of Hampshire for processing. They are not staying at the Marriott or any other property in Portsmouth.” She acknowledged that immigration was a legitimate subject for debate but insisted that discussion must be grounded in reality. “There is a legitimate debate to be had about immigration, but it must be based on facts, not misinformation or rumour,” she said. Her comments were echoed by trade union and anti-racist figures, who warned that opportunistic misinformation could ignite racially motivated violence. John Woods, chair of Portsmouth City Unison, put the point bluntly: “Do we really want to allow racist mobs to gather whenever a coach of non-white people is seen?” His question captured the concern that the Marriott incident was not just about one confused crowd, but about a broader climate in which non-white people arriving in the city were being treated as suspicious before they ever stepped off a bus.
National campaigners also responded with warnings that the demonstration should be viewed as a foreseeable consequence of relentless scapegoating of refugees and migrants. Michael Bradley, a national organiser for Stand Up To Racism, said: “The incident at the Portsmouth Marriott shows where the scapegoating of refugees and migrants can lead. When a Pakistan U19’s team is faced by protests because it ‘might’ in fact be a group of migrants it means that effectively any group of black or Asian people coming into the city are being seen by the far right as a potential target — it’s obvious where all this is going to end: racist attacks and more violence.” Bradley stressed that the protest could easily have escalated and described the spread of false information as a deliberate attempt to create division. He and other anti-racist campaigners insisted that the response to such threats should be an equally strong mobilisation of ordinary residents committed to welcoming visitors and standing against hatred. The Marriott hotel, for its part, declined to comment publicly on the disturbance, but security concerns were understood to have been raised with police after drones were used to monitor the building and guests were photographed without their consent.
The fear now is that the disorder on Sunday and the Marriott incident on Tuesday were only a prelude to a larger and more dangerous confrontation on Saturday, September 12. The right-wing group Portsmouth Patriots, led by Danny Tommo — who is reported to have organised the Eastney protest — has called for a demonstration in the centre of Portsmouth. Prominent activist Tommy Robinson, who was photographed alongside Tommo and Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf, sought to enlarge the event with a message on X, writing: “All south coast patriot groups are uniting this Saturday in Portsmouth to march on the city. If you can get there, get there. Strength in numbers.” In response, Stand Up To Racism and Portsmouth trade unions are planning a counter-protest on the same day, with organisers hoping to fill the streets with a message of unity and opposition to the far right. Michael Bradley said: “When the far right march in Portsmouth on Saturday, Stand Up To Racism is calling for people to mobilise against them to show that we won’t allow our city and community to be divided.” Police will face a major challenge in keeping the opposing factions apart, and city leaders are increasingly concerned that misinformation could again place innocent people in danger. After two nights of unrest, Portsmouth is now bracing for a tense weekend, with many hoping that facts and calm will prevail over rumour and fear.
