Violence erupts at far-right demo over immigration

The town was brought to a standstill by the protest over immigration.

The march by the East Kent Alliance and a counter protest from Kent Anti-Racism Network saw supporters square up in a tense exchange, with police forming a wall to keep them apart.

By the afternoon 12 people had been arrested at the protest, which also saw the burning of the EU flag and protestors chanting “No more refugees”.

One man was arrested on suspicion of possession of offensive weapons and another on suspicion of theft of a police baseball cap.

Hundreds of officers in riot gear were deployed to the stand-off, which came a day after the White Cliffs of Dover were lit up by another group with the message: “Refugees welcome.”

Coachloads of protesters heading to the Kent town were delayed because of police searches.

The protest also led to long delays at the town’s busy port.

Large queues of lorries were tailed back, waiting for roads to open, as the march drew to a close.

Many residents in the town have called on the police to ban future protests, given the widespread disruption and potential for violent flashpoints.

Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, said the disruption to local people caused by the demonstrators was “too high a price to pay”.

He said: “The port has been disrupted. The haulage industry has been disrupted.

“Our nation’s economy has been disrupted, as well as the town of Dover and the local economy.

“It’s too high a price to pay and it’s not acceptable that people can come here, demonstrate and cause this level of disruption to people going about their daily lives.

“That’s why it’s time that, as constituency MP for Dover, I think we need to look again at the law governing these sorts of situations and make it proportional to the rights of people going about their daily business.”

A similar demo caused a day of chaos in January with 30 arrests.

Then Kent Police received widespread criticism of their handling of the demo but were later cleared by an independent report that said the force’s actions had been “proportionate, justifiable and appropriate”.

The review found that “to ban the march or impose conditions would have been inappropriate”.

Another protest is planned for April 23 and may also require the temporary closure of roads near and in the town.