Patriot Platform Protests Prompt Police Review of Protest Powers

Hundreds of men in black clothing and face coverings blocked the Port of Dover and later a Portsmouth marina, creating miles of traffic congestion and prompting an investigation into assaults on officers and criminal damage. No arrests were made at either site, and police forces said they were caught off-guard by the scale and coordination of the demonstrations.

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Patriot Platform, a far-right group founded by Daniel Thomas (who uses the nickname “Danny Tommo”), has previously staged actions outside Parliament and the Daily Mail offices. The group claims its masked tactics protect members from “far-left attacks” and job loss, despite Thomas having warned in 2019 that such attire should be prohibited at protests. Recent protests have been linked to concerns about targeting Muslims, which police said they had not fully assessed beforehand.

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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told police leaders that officers must be ready to use “every power at our disposal,” including facial-recognition technology and automatic number-plate recognition, to counter the “fear factor” of masked protesters. Deputy Chief Constable Andy Mariner, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for public order, emphasized the priority of safety, public order and the right to peaceful protest, while noting that criminal offences will be met with police action. Kent Police admitted they had not fully assessed public reports of potential targeting of Muslims and are reviewing decision-making for future events. Hampshire Police launched an investigation to identify any offenders responsible for assaults, criminal damage or other offences.

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Professor Geoff Pearson of the University of Manchester Law School warned that any move to ban face coverings must be balanced against human-rights protections, noting the difficulty of restricting lawful protest. Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s terrorism-law watchdog, likened Patriot Platform’s tactics to “paramilitarism in Northern Ireland” and cautioned that existing English laws, abolished in 1986, are ill-suited to address implicit threats.

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• “These scenes have caused disruption for people and, given that people are dressed in black wearing balaclavas, there is a fear factor and obvious malign intent being communicated to our residents,” — Shabana Mahmood, home secretary

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• “But if these are repeated protests, it becomes a lot easier for police to say ‘you’ve made your point’.” — Jonathan Hall KC

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• “Our laws are really designed to deal with violence and threats, and do not apply so easily where the threat is implicit.” — Jonathan Hall

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