A group of masked anti-immigration demonstrators gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, after reports emerged that a group of asylum seekers had been taken there, when it was in fact Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team on a tour, British media reported Wednesday.
The incident happened on the evening of September 8 (Tuesday) in a northern suburb of Portsmouth after protesters disrupted the disembarkation of scores of migrants near the port city and confronted police in widely condemned scenes.
The Portsmouth protest came a day after hundreds of masked protesters blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port of Dover on Saturday, clogging traffic and disrupting travelers as well as cargo vehicles heading for France.
Hundreds of protesters, many dressed in dark clothing and wearing masks, faced off with police in late Sunday in an attempt to prevent lifeboats from bringing the migrants to land. They then tried to block buses carrying the new arrivals to a processing facility for asylum seekers.
Immigration and the arrival of tens of thousands of asylum seekers annually on small boats from mainland have become a politically toxic issue in Britain, sparking numerous protests in recent years, some turning violent.
According to AFP, Tuesday’s incident came after reports online about a coach with young Asian men on board being seen at a Marriott Hotel in the Portsmouth suburb of Cosham drew protestors to the venue.
George Madgwick, a councillor from anti-immigration party Reform UK, went to the scene and helped disperse the crowd after confirming the men were in fact members of Pakistan’s teenage cricket team, The Guardian newspaper reported.
“I also spoke to the coach of the team, who was very understanding,” Madgwick was quoted as saying. He added, “I went out to the protesters and told them, ‘You’ve got it wrong guys, it’s a cricket club.’ They left within a couple of minutes. It was a massively unfortunate incident.”
The senior Pakistan men’s side are currently involved in the third Test against England at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground.
According to The Guardian, the news first emerged after Madgwick put out a Facebook post urging people to stay away from the area.
“A number of concerned local residents spotted what they believed to be migrants going into the Marriott hotel. A number of you messaged me and asked me to come down. I spoke to the hotel and they agreed to meet me.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Hampshire Police — which is responsible for the region — said the force “were notified that a group of people were starting to congregate” near the hotel Tuesday evening.
“Officers subsequently attended and spoke to members of the public that had gathered who were expressing concerns about a coach that had been seen in the area,” the spokesman added.
“The officers explained that their concerns were not correct,” the spokesman said, according to AFP, without confirming the s were the mistaken target.
He noted the crowd of around 30 people dispersed a short time later and no offences were identified.
Michael Bradley, a national organiser from the Stand Up To Racism organisation, condemned the incident as showing “where the scapegoating of refugees and migrants can lead.”
“When a Pakistan U-19’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,” he said.
“It’s obvious where all this is going to end — racist attacks and more violence.”
Since the incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board has contacted the Pakistan Cricket Board to check on the wellbeing of those involved, and is reviewing security arrangements for the remainder of the squad’s tour, the Guardian report added.
The team played England Under-19s in a four-day Test last week, losing by 10 runs, and are playing a one-day game against the same opponents on Wednesday at Arundel, around 25 miles from Portsmouth.
A final game, also an ODI, is scheduled to be played in Guildford on Saturday. Pakistan’s senior men’s team is also in the country, playing the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston.
(With inputs from AFP and The Guardian)
