Police separate noisy Stand Up To Racism and Portsmouth Patriots protestors at rally - in pictures

Stand Up To Racism hosted the Unity rally fearing the events involving ICE agents in the United States of America will be an inspiration for the far right. It claimed that some people are now arguing that being born in this country does not make you British, and have been advocating for the loss of rights as a result.

Meanwhile the Portsmouth Patriots, which had been leading the recent protests outside the Royal Beach Hotel, held a counter protest fearing the impact of the far left. They have also expressed fears about the impact of immigration on our city and local residents.

Despite some heated exchanges, the event is believed to have passed without incident with Hampshire Police officers keeping both sides apart.

It follows last summer’s anti-immigration protests where the two sides faced off against each other with rallies organised in the wake of the arrest of an asylum seeker who was charged with rape. However, he was later acquitted by a jury after a trial.

The Home Office has pledged to end the use of hotels as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers by 2029 and The Royal Beach Hotel is being converted into housing. The final phase of this will be completed when the remaining asylum seekers being housed there have been processed.