Far-right activists have descended on Portsmouth, where a small boat with 140 asylum seekers on board was intercepted heading towards the Portsmouth coast. It sparked a major response with a helicopter, an aeroplane and lifeboats sent to the scene. It is thought to be the first time such a large boat containing asylum seekers has been brought to Portsmouth.

The boat’s occupants have been brought to shore in the maritime city and are being taken by coach to Manston, outside Ramsgate in Kent where small boat arrivals are processed.

Videos circulating on social media show groups of people being taken on lifeboats to shore, where several coaches are parked. The protesters in Portsmouth were blocking the coaches carrying asylum seekers from leaving.

Portsmouth councillor George Madgwick, who is the leader of Reform UK in Hampshire, wrote in a post on X that “over 100 migrant men” had arrived on the Portsmouth shores on Sunday.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: “In response to a report on 6 September of a small boat heading towards the Hampshire coast, HM Coastguard sent lifeboats, an HM Coastguard helicopter, an HM Coastguard aeroplane and HM Coastguard Rescue Teams.

“Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire police and south central ambulance service were also sent.”

In a livestream from the scene, Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo – a former bodyguard of the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – encouraged viewers of his livestream to travel to Portsmouth to join the protest.

Thomas has recently established Patriot Platform which blocked part of port of Dover on Saturday. He previously launched Operation Overlord which planned to send far-right activists to France to “stop the boats”. He and his supporters filmed themselves slashing abandoned dinghies on a French beach. The french authorities subsequently banned him from France.

Small boat crossings so far this year have reduced by more than 40% compared with the same period last year. While the Home Office has disrupted the smugglers’ business model, their methods appear to have evolved by launching boats such as the one that arrived on Sunday evening from different parts of the coast, much further from the UK, making the crossings more dangerous.

Most small boat arrivals are rescued by Border Force and RNLI boats on the English side of the Channel and brought ashore in Dover.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election.

“We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.

“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”