Rival protests over migration face off in Portsmouth

Rival demonstrations over migration took place in Portsmouth on Saturday, with anti-immigration and counter-protesters marching through the city center before facing off in Guildhall Square. Police enforced a warning that face coverings could lead to arrest under the Crime and Policing Act, and no masks were seen. The anti-immigration group carried Union and St George's flags, with banners reading "stop the boats" and "stop the grooming gangs," while counter-protesters chanted "refugees are welcome here" and "stop the far right." Both sides shouted at each other across the square, with chants about deportation and housing migrants. The protests follow recent unrest in Portsmouth and Dover, where masked men blocked a port and damaged vehicles. Del Leon Somerville, 42, appeared in court charged with violent disorder and assaulting a police officer from last week's demonstration, with police warning of further arrests.