Andy Burnham has urged Labour MPs to counter the "politics of poison seeping into our streets" following a weekend of unrest at anti-migrant protests in Dover and Portsmouth. Speaking privately to MPs and peers on Monday, the Prime Minister said Labour's task was to meet public fear with "positivity and hope" as the party heads towards its autumn conference, insisting the government could still improve people's lives despite a divided political climate.

The intervention follows disruption on Saturday, when masked men blocked roads to the Port of Dover, and further clashes in Portsmouth on Sunday that damaged official vehicles and injured several police officers; more than 200 protesters there tried to stop coaches carrying around 120 migrants who had arrived by boat near the Isle of Wight. Policing minister Sarah Jones told the Commons that organisers Patriot Platform were "far-right racist" and warned demonstrators crossing into illegality would face prosecution, while shadow home secretary Chris Philp said protest should never turn violent but blamed the government's migration record for public anger. Kent Police described the Dover protest as "spontaneous", Hampshire police have opened an investigation into the Portsmouth incidents, and Labour MP Mike Tapp called for a Cobra meeting, calling small boat crossings a "national emergency".