Image source, Getty ImagesByNikki Mitchell, South of England home affairs correspondent and Stuart Rust, South of England

  • Published8 September 2026, 15:19 BST

Updated 20 minutes ago

Requests to accept the landing of RNLI boats carrying 120 migrants intercepted off the Isle of Wight were refused by both Portsmouth harbour and Southampton Port.

When the migrants were landed on Sunday at Eastney, in Langstone Harbour, anti-migrant protesters blocked the road.

Associated British Ports (ABP), which operates Southampton, said it was not the closest port and it “did not have suitable reception facilities available”.

The BBC understands the King’s Harbour Master (KHM) Portsmouth also declined a coastguard request, but it would not comment directly on operational matters.

The protest followed a separate demonstration at the Port of Dover on the previous day.

The Langstone Harbour Master said the migrants were “recovered” onto two RNLI vessels in the vicinity of the Nab Tower.

They said they would have travelled at “quite a slow speed” to Langstone because the vessels were so overloaded.

An RNLI spokesperson said: “We are working with the relevant parties to understand the decision to deny access, and we are disappointed with the nature of the communication with our crews, who voluntarily give their time to save the lives of others at sea.”

The narrow peninsula at Eastney has only one road leading in and out, which demonstrators used to block coaches carrying the migrants from leaving the area.

It led to a stand-off that lasted into the early hours of Monday.

Portsmouth City Council said it was a “completely unsuitable location to bring the boats ashore” and brought “needless disruption” to the area.

Langstone Harbour Master Billy Johnson said the coastguard was coordinating “a search and rescue operation” and there was “no reason not to accept” the landing of the vessels at Eastney.

“The problem was managing the public order aspect that was also taking place and the geography of the area made that very challenging for the police,” he said.

“This is a new thing in the Solent and the degree to which it attracted public interest and the speed at which the public reaction was mobilised was unusual and surprising.

“The way the emergency services mobilised was really effective, with the police, Border Force, coastguard, the RNLI, ambulance and fire service working completely together – all of whom were hindered by the activities of protesters.”

ABP said it received an enquiry about landing recovered migrants.

It said in a statement: “We had to decline the enquiry as the Port did not have suitable reception facilities available.

“If there had been a safety of life at sea issue where Southampton was the closest port or if we had received a formal direction from the relevant authority then we would have played a role.

“Neither was the case in this situation.”

‘Fear and tension’

The leader of Portsmouth City Council, Steve Pitt, said: “The Home Office has some serious questions to answer about their lack of planning, inconsistent decision-making and ultimately, poor judgement.”

In the House of Commons yesterday Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Portsmouth, referred to the boat containing 120 migrants in the Solent as an “extraordinary mega dinghy”.

She said: “MPs across the Solent region were scrambling for reliable information with complete radio silence from the Home Office. As a result we weren’t in a position to calm fear and tension.”

Responding for the government, Home Office minister Sarah Jones said the department would “learn any lessons that we need to” following the weekend’s protests.

Asked why Eastney had been chosen as the landing site, she said: “We are of course making sure we understand what exactly happened in that circumstance.”

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