Protesters outside Portsmouth hotel confuse Pakistan U19 cricket team for asylum seekers

Reform councillor said he urged activists to stand down

A group of masked agitators gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth after reports a group of asylum seekers had been taken there, when it was in fact Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team on a tour.

George Madgwick, a Reform councillor called to the hotel to mediate between staff and the assembled crowd, said it was a “massively unfortunate incident”.

Madgwick, who leads the Reform group on Hampshire council and whose ward includes the four-star Marriott hotel, said he nonetheless believed the incident was understandable given recent coverage of asylum seekers arriving in the city via small boats.

Hundreds of people, many wearing balaclavas, clashed with police in Portsmouth on Sunday evening after a dinghy carrying asylum seekers reached its coastline from France. Police are investigating potential assaults and criminal damage.

It came a day after crowds of people dressed in black and wearing balaclavas blocked the road around the port of Dover for several hours. Daniel Thomas, a far-right activist closely linked to Tommy Robinson , claimed to have arranged both demonstrations.

Madgwick said he was at home on Tuesday evening when he was called and told that about 40 people had gathered outside the The Marriott hotel, many wearing balaclavas or other face coverings, after reports that asylum seekers were staying there.

He went there and spoke to the hotel manager, who “explained the situation” – the hotel was hosting members of an under-21 cricket team from Pakistan, who are touring the south coast and using the Marriott as their base.

Madgwick said the group massed outside after reports that about 40 men who did not seem to be English had arrived at the hotel, and that the coach which took them was from the same company who moved the asylum seekers who came by boat.

“I also spoke to the coach of the team, who was very understanding,” Madgwick said. “I went out to the protesters and told them, ‘You’ve got it wrong guys, it’s a cricket club.’ They left within a couple of minutes. It was a massively unfortunate incident.

“From the perspective of the people of Portsmouth who are already on high alert, this was a coach from the same company which was turning up with about 40 foreign men.”

Madgwick said he accepted it was far from ideal for a masked group to assemble outside a hotel purely because a group of apparently foreign men had arrived.

He said: “It doesn’t make our city look like the welcoming city it is. But it’s reflective of the climate we live in, and where people are deeply concerned about the issues.”

The news first emerged after Madgwick put out a Facebook post urging people to stay away from the area. He wrote: “There were reports that possible migrants were staying in the Marriott hotel. I can confirm that is NOT the case. Please don’t attend the hotel.

“A number of concerned local residents spotted what they believed to be migrants going into the Marriott hotel. A number of you messaged me and asked me to come down. I spoke to the hotel and they agreed to meet me.”

At the hotel, as well as speaking to the hotel staff and team coach, Madgwick was shown “proof” that the men were indeed cricketers, he added. Madgwick said he had subsequently made the post private as it was attracting abusive comments.

Since the incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board has contacted the Pakistan Cricket Board to check on the wellbeing of those involved, and is reviewing security arrangements for the remainder of the squad’s tour.

The team played England Under-19s in a four-day Test last week, losing by 10 runs, and are playing a one-day game against the same opponents on Wednesday at Arundel, around 25 miles from Portsmouth. A final game, also an ODI, is scheduled to be played in Guildford on Saturday. Pakistan’s senior men’s team is also in the country, playing the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston.