Dover and Portsmouth showed us a new kind of far right – and the authorities were caught out | Joe Mulhall

This is a new and dangerous development: a network of vigilantes who have mobilised as politicians and police have failed to act

Sadly, we’ve become used to far-right protests in recent years. Whether it’s the vast demonstrations led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) in central London, or the hundreds of local protests outside hotels and HMOs housing asylum seekers, the sight of far-right activists chanting anti-migrant slogans has become all too common.

What we saw in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend feels different. At roughly 7am on Saturday morning, hundreds of balaclava-clad men, dressed all in black, began piling out of the backs of vans and blocked roads around Dover port. Shockingly, the police appear to have known nothing about it in advance.

Joe Mulhall is director of research at the anti-fascism organisation Hope not Hate

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