Man charged after wearing burkha to anti-migrant protest amid balaclava ban

A man has been charged with concealing his identity after wearing a burkha at an anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth on Saturday.

Timothy Miller, 76, was one of several protestors arrested over the weekend, as hundreds of people from South Coast Patriots and Stand Up To Racism faced off in the city centre.

Mr Miller, of Sherwood Avenue in Hedge End, Southampton, is due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Monday and has been charged with wearing an item to conceal identity at a protest.

It comes after hundreds of far-right demonstrators descended on Portsmouth earlier this month in attempt to stop asylum seekers who were taken ashore in the Hampshire city.

David McNally, 33, was charged with wilful obstruction of a highway and attempted criminal damage, Hampshire Police said.

Another 16-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of violent disorder in relation to disorder at Eastney Marina the previous Sunday, but has since been released on bail.

The force had vowed to crack down on face coverings and warned it would not tolerate violence, after hundreds of masked protestors turned out at Eastney Marina and Dover the previous week.

Hampshire Police had issued a Section 60AA order, giving officers the power to require protesters to remove masks, face coverings, or any other items used to conceal their identity.

A member of the Facebook group The Patriots of Great Britain urged anti-migrant protesters to wear “hats, shades and war paint” instead of face coverings in an apparent attempt to flout the ban.

“They can't ban those. It will show people not to be frightened of you, it will invoke British humour and pride, and it will give the right-wing media something to praise, and it will make the government look like mugs,” they added.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo said: “Where a minority of people try to take advantage of the situation to cause violence and disruption, it is right that we use all our policing powers robustly to protect the local community as well as the right of others to peaceful protest.”

He added: “We have listened to the concerns of our communities and know how intimidated they feel when they see masked groups descend on their neighbourhoods.

“Let me be clear, these powers are not being implemented to prevent protest, but they are being used to help prevent crime and disorder, while making communities feel safer.

“We will support those who want to express their views peacefully and lawfully, but we will not tolerate those whose only aim is to create fear and incite violence.”

The first man charged over the initial anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth appeared in court on Saturday morning.

Del Leon Somerville, 42, of Paulsgrove, appeared before Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court charged with violent disorder and assaulting a police constable in the execution of their duty.