Splits Emerge In Reform Over Masked Anti-Migration Protesters

Splits have erupted among Reform UK’s top team in response to the masked anti-migrant protests which erupted at the weekend.

Hundreds of men gathered in Dover on Saturday, dressed in all black and wearing balaclavas, to demonstrate against small boat arrivals. Their blockade brought the local port to a standstill but was largely peaceful, with no arrests.

Another protest erupted in Portsmouth on Sunday night, this time blocking coaches transporting around 120 asylum seekers to a processing centre after arriving from Normandy.

Approximately 200 people – again dressed in black, wearing face coverings – ended up being removed by the police with threat of arrest. A few officers suffered minor injuries and a handful of vehicles were damaged.

Both events were reportedly organised by far-right agitator, Daniel Thomas, who has also been linked to far-right figure Tommy Robinson.

Reform UK’s core messaging is around stopping the small boats and cutting down on immigration – but the party appears to be deeply conflicted over how to respond to these particularly intimidating demonstrations.

Party leader Nigel Farage condemned the masked protests in Dover at the weekend, telling GB News: “It’s disgusting. Nobody in any political protest, on the left or right, should appear in balaclavas.’

Writing in the Telegraph on Monday, he also called for a ban on all full-face coverings in public spaces.

He said wearing anything from a gang member’s balaclava to an Antifa mask is a “menacing” act designed to intimidate the public and undermine trust in society.

That is in line with past Reform suggestions to ban face coverings such as the burqa.

However, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf then appeared to defend the protesters on X on Tuesday.

After Tory leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the “thuggery” of the protesters, Yusuf said: “How dare you call them ‘thugs’?

“Badenoch and the Tory party threw open our borders and let in 130,000 invaders by boat.

“She and her party forced these men onto working class communities.

“British working class women and girls were raped and murdered.

“Now she calls the people whose lives are being turned upside down ‘thugs’?

“The Tories sneer at voters from their ivory tower. This is why the Tory Party must be destroyed.”

Yusuf visited Portsmouth on Monday and met protester organiser Thomas, who urged Reform not to criticise his supporters for wearing balaclavas.

The far-right activist said: “What do you expect the men of this country to do when they see violence against women, sexual assaults, what would you do as a man… just wait?”

Thomas told Yusuf his followers had been told not to take drugs, drink, shout or carry out acts of violence, and alleged they were acting lawfully.

Yusuf said he would take that message back to Farage, adding: “I think it’s important we listen to people. He was making his points respectfully.”

But, in another twist, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick said police should “arrest” and “lock up” anyone who blocks the life of everyday Brits.

The mixed messages coming out of Reform’s senior team comes amid growing pressure from the far-right splinter group Restore Britain, which has defended the masked protests.

Its leader Rupert Lowe wrote on X: “I don’t like face coverings. I hate seeing them. But I hate the invasion FAR more, and if new lawful methods manage to make progress where politicians have failed, then that is a price worth paying.”

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