A former military sea fort could be converted into a processing site for small boat arrivals in Hampshire as migrants make more dangerous journeys across the Channel to reach the UK.
The i Paper understands the Government has prepared contingency proposals to deal with arrivals further down the south coast from Kent.
Smuggling gangs in France are attempting to evade authorities by making longer and more dangerous journeys across the Channel from western areas like Normandy.
This week, two vessels in two days evaded Border Force patrols to land on a Kent beach.
No final decision has been made by government on converting Fort Blockhouse, in Gosport, near Portsmouth, into a processing site for migrants. It also understood it would be a temporary facility.
But local MPs and councillors have lashed out at the Home Office plans. They say the site would be an “easy target” for protesters to blockade coaches transporting migrants, as happened in Portsmouth two weeks ago.
An aborted attempt to use Fort Blockhouse to land 50 asylum seekers sparked protests in the town on Tuesday.
Police descended on Gosport where a boat carrying the migrants was due to dock. Three coaches to pick up the asylum seekers had to be protected by police escorts.
But the boat, which was at sea for over 30 hours, diverted to Dover after hundreds of anti-migrant protesters massed at the site.
Six arrests were made. Police are also “conducting inquiries” after far-right activist Danny Tommo filmed himself apparently slashing the side of a dinghy with a rescue crew member still on board.
It comes after seven police officers were assaulted at a protest this month when migrants from a mega-dinghy were brought to Portsmouth.
Zoe Huggins, Conservative leader of Gosport Borough Council, urged the Government against using Fort Blockhouse as initial reception site for illegal migrants.
Police and protesters in Gosport, Hampshire after police closed off rescue boats were sent to collect passengers of a migrant dinghy which had spent around 30 hours at sea. (Photo: Trevor Adams/PA Wire)She told The i Paper: “We had heard through informal channels that the Government were looking at future sites here across Hampshire and the Solent, and we believe Gosport was one of those.
“They were looking at suitable sites that they could do a temporary docking and disembarkation. They were not looking at a full-time permanent processing center.
“So, it was a temporary disembarkation if illegal migrants were using that crossing route more regularly.”
Proposed site ‘easy target’ for protestors
Originally built in the 15th century, Fort Blockhouse, the UK’s oldest sea fort, is the former home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), but has been for sale for years.
Huggins described the fort as unsafe and logistically not viable, with access on and off the peninsula by two narrow roads creating an “easy target” for protesters to blockade coaches transporting migrants, as happened in Portsmouth.
She made her concerns clear in a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, adding: “It is outrageous that Government can review arrangements like this without talking to the local council.”
Meanwhile, Mahmood has ordered an urgent review after Border Force failed to intercept a second migrant boat in two days before they reached the Kent coast.
Footage showed around 20 people on Samphire Beach, between Dover and Folkestone, on Tuesday. The previous day, a dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone – the first undetected landing for a year.
Caroline Leavitt, the Conservative MP for Gosport, said if more boats are intercepted off the Hampshire coastline they should be taken to Dover.
In a letter to Mahmood, she demanded to know who identified Fort Blockhouse as a potential disembarkation point and what assessment the Home Office had made of its suitability for future migrant boat disembarkations.
She called for an “unequivocal assurance” that Gosport would not be used for migrant boat arrivals without prior consultation with her and relevant local authorities.
‘The people of Gosport deserve better’
“The people of Gosport deserve better than to find out through rumours that a major Home Office operation is being prepared on their doorstep, while their emergency services are mobilised without adequate local communication or consideration of the consequences,” she added.
Separately, the Government is planning to expand an Immigration Removal Centre, (IRC) at the former Haslar IRC at Gosport next year, with an eventual capacity of 600.
Border security minister Alex Norris said it was part of asylum reforms that had seen nearly 50,000 people deported.
A public planning inquiry into the proposals is due to be held after Gosport Borough Council. Dinenage called for greater transparency from ministers.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
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