Nigel Farage has called for a ban on all face coverings in Britain days after hundreds of masked protestors took to the streets of Dover.
The Reform UK leader described the coverings – whether that be a balaclava or an Antifa mask – as a ‘menace’ designed to bully and intimidate.
He added that the sight of an ordinary citizen crossing the road to avoid a masked figure would have been ‘unimaginable’ a generation ago.
It comes just days after a huge crowd of men donning all-black outfits and balaclavas brought Britain’s busiest ferry port to a standstill on Saturday morning.
Anti-migrant demonstrators were heard chanting ‘stop the boats’ and ‘enough is enough’ while blocking roads to and from the port on the east coast.
Hard-Right organisation Patriot Platform – run by convicted attempted kidnapper Daniel Thomas – claimed responsibility for the demonstration.
In a fiery interview on Saturday night, Farage dubbed the protest ‘disgusting’, insisting that ‘nobody in any political protest, left or right, should be appearing in balaclavas’.
And now the 62-year-old and Reform UK are calling for all face coverings in public spaces to be banned.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for all face coverings to be banned following protests in Dover and Portsmouth
Hundreds of anti-migrant protestors took to the streets of Dover on Saturday
The demonstration, believed to have been organised by Patriot Platform, was described as ‘intimidating’
Farage told The Telegraph: ‘Now, I’m all for the protest – plenty to protest about – but seriously this is not the way to go about it.
‘Let’s be clear, face coverings are a menace. Whether it is a heavy-duty balaclava worn by a gang member or the dark mask of “Antifa” extremists, their purpose is to bully and intimidate.’
He added: ‘Reform UK is calling for a ban on all full-face coverings in public spaces. No ifs, no buts. And yes, that includes religious ones too.
‘Because a free and open society depends fundamentally on trust. That trust is built on a simple, ancient social contract: I show you my face, you show me yours. When you strip that away, the entire fabric of public safety and mutual trust begins to fray.’
Only a day after hard-Right protestors caused havoc in Dover, more than 500 people took to Portsmouth in a bid to stop 140 asylum seekers being transported to an immigration centre.
The migrants had earlier arrived on a huge dinghy which set sail from Calais, with the French coastguard shadowing the vessel until British lifeboats took over.
Protesters, some of whom had waded into the sea earlier in the day, said they were prepared to remain throughout the night to block any routes out of the city, leading to clashes with police as riot officers were deployed.
Eastney is just four miles from the Port of Portsmouth and the HM Naval Base, home to six Royal Navy destroyers and its two flagship aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
In protest footage shared on social media, a riot officer appeared to be pushed from his motorbike as demonstrators, many wearing caps and hoods, shouted: ‘Shame on you.’
Further clips showed officers carrying shields ordering the crowd to ‘get back’ before pushing some protesters away from a nearby police van.
The demonstrators remained in the area until almost midnight amid chaotic scenes and multiple clashes with officers near the waterfront.
The protest is thought to have been spearheaded by hard-Right influencer Daniel Thomas, the Tommy Robinson associate whose Patriot Platform group organised the mass demonstration in Dover.
Speaking on Monday, government minister Emma Reynolds dubbed the 500 Eastney protestors ‘thuggish and intimidating’.
The Treasury Chief Secretary said: ‘I absolutely support people’s right to peaceful protest. But this crosses a line and I just want to take the opportunity to thank the police and other emergency services who have brought this under control.’
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said officers from other forces had to come to help – and fears that this ‘is just the start’ of protests.
She said: ‘Last night we had mutual aid, public order police officers sent from police forces across the country including the Metropolitan Police Service.
‘We also had a number of our own police officers, obviously, from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary trying to take back control of the roads, forming a line and holding a few hundred protesters back.
‘This is just the start, if this continues, these numbers will grow from the protesters.
‘They were making their point that they don’t want Portsmouth to become a destination’.
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