Hampshire Police have charged a 76-year-old man with wearing a face covering at an anti-immigration demonstration in Portsmouth, just one day after the force announced it would use powers to arrest anyone concealing their identity. Timothy Justin Miller, of Sherwood Avenue, Hedge End, Southampton, is accused of wearing or using an item to conceal identity at the protest. He is due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Arrests and charges at the protest
A person wearing what appeared to be black scarves tied across their face and head was pictured in handcuffs at the protest on Saturday afternoon. In total, two men and a teenage boy were arrested at the protests on Saturday, according to the force.
David Kenny McNally, 33, of Winchester Road, Portsmouth, has been charged with wilful obstruction of a highway and attempted criminal damage. He will appear at the same court on Thursday. A 16-year-old boy from Waterlooville who was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder over a protest at Eastney Marina on September 6 has been bailed until December 12.
RNLI volunteers warned over abuse
RNLI volunteers and staff have been warned not to wear the charity’s branding because of the ‘unacceptable abuse’ they have faced from anti-migrant protesters. Charity workers were targeted while bringing small boat migrants ashore during protests in Dover and Portsmouth.
This week, footage posted on social media showed volunteers being labelled as ‘traitors’ after helping a dinghy to safety in Portsmouth. Protests have been held at RNLI sites, including on Wednesday, when a small anti-migrant gathering was held at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset.
RNLI response and safety measures
Volunteers have been told they are ’empowered to make decisions to keep yourself, your team or crew safe’ and ‘go home or close for the day if you need to’, the BBC reported. The charity’s chief executive Peter Sparkes previously said abuse of RNLI volunteers is ‘wholly unacceptable in a civilised society’ and that there had been ‘deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel’.
The charges and warnings come amid ongoing tensions around migrant crossings and the role of the RNLI in rescuing people in the Channel. The 76-year-old’s court appearance on Monday will be a key test of the new police powers, while the RNLI continues to navigate the safety concerns of its volunteers.
