Hundreds march in Gosport against Haslar migrant centre plans

Hundreds of anti-migrant protesters marched through Gosport on Sunday afternoon against plans to reopen a redeveloped immigration removal centre for undocumented men at the former Haslar site.

Demonstrators waved England and Union flags and chanted “deport the lot” and “remigration now” as they moved through the coastal Hampshire town. Posts on social media said the protest was organised by “Gosport Patriots” in opposition to “undocumented men being held” at Haslar Immigration Removal Centre.

Dozens of counter-protesters held a static protest near the town’s ferry port. Some signs read “fight ignorance, not immigrants” and “refugees welcome, celebrate diversity”. Police kept the two groups at a distance with vans and horses. Powers prohibiting face coverings were in place in some areas of Gosport. The protests passed largely peacefully.

Some 12 people were arrested earlier this month at a separate protest against the arrival of migrants in the town after a small boat crossing. Local patience is wearing thin as the Channel crossings continue and accommodation is pressed into service far from the south coast.

Britain cannot run an open door and call it compassion. A country that cannot remove those with no right to stay has lost control of its borders. Removal centres that actually hold and process people for departure are basic statecraft, not cruelty.

The Home Office said earlier this year it was proceeding with plans to open the redeveloped centre next year at the former Haslar IRC, which closed in 2015. The Standard reported the department’s description of a “mixture of refurbished and new-build accommodation built to the latest standards, taking account of findings from external scrutiny reports and internal lessons learned reviews to provide modern, safe, secure accommodation for detained men”.

Haslar capacity and the next phase

Around 130 bed spaces will be created through the refurbishment of the existing accommodation, compared with 198 places at the former IRC when it closed. Subject to planning permission and necessary approvals, a second phase would provide around 470 additional places, lifting Haslar’s total capacity to around 600.

That figure still sits against the scale of arrivals and the backlog of cases. Coastal towns see the boats, the hotels, and the arguments on their streets. Marchers in Gosport made plain they want removals, not endless holding patterns. Counter-protesters framed the same dispute as welcome and diversity. Police held the line between them.

Ministers have promised firmer enforcement for years. The Haslar rebuild is one concrete step: secure beds for detained men pending removal. Whether the second phase clears planning and whether the centre is used for swift departures will decide if Sunday’s chants fade or grow. Gosport has already seen arrests this month. The town is watching what the Home Office delivers next year.

Flags on the seafront and rival placards at the ferry port show the split. One side demands deportation and remigration. The other insists refugees are welcome. The state still has to house, hold, and remove according to the law. Haslar’s return is meant to supply part of that capacity. The march made the local verdict unmistakable.

Original source: The Standard

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