Across the United Kingdom, a quiet but accelerating fracture in civic trust has taken visible form: twenty-eight vigilante groups, most born within the last year, have appointed themselves guardians of borders and streets that elected authorities, in their view, have abandoned. From Glasgow's late-night patrols to Channel-side confrontations in France, these groups enact an old and dangerous idea — that when institutions fail, the people must arm themselves with authority they were never granted. Experts warn that this logic, however sincerely held by some, has historically served as the thres
UK anti-migrant vigilante groups surge to 28 in 18 months, raising disorder fears
Asylum seekers and migrants face harassment, intimidation, and alleged assaults; police officers were allegedly assaulted during Portsmouth demonstrations.
community protection as a cover for racist thuggery
Mark
So we're talking about nearly thirty groups in eighteen months. That's not a gradual drift—that's a sudden mobilisation. What changed in the summer of 2025?
Mimi
There were specific flashpoints. Raise the Colours' flag operation in August, and unrest at an asylum hotel in Epping. But those were sparks on tinder that was already dry. Social media amplified narratives about threats to women and children, and there was a broader sense that authorities weren't acting.
Luke
But we should be careful here. The Guardian counted 28 groups where they could establish dates. That's out of 31 they tracked. What about the others? And how do we define "group"? Is it five people with a Facebook page or fifty people with regular operations?
Mimi
Fair point. Some are genuinely organised—Scots Active has regular patrols, the British Security Project has a recruitment strategy. Others might be looser networks. But the pattern is real: most emerged in the last year.
Mark
The British Security Project says it's not vigilante, not anti-migrant, and prohibits racism. Do we take that at face value?
Luke
No. They describe themselves as the "tip of the spear in mass deportation under a Rupert Lowe government." That's explicitly political and anti-migrant. The statement they gave the Guardian is damage control.
Mimi
Right. And Hope Not Hate found that most of these groups don't vet members properly, so you get people with violent criminal histories involved. The performative aspect—uniforms, patrols, equipment—makes them look legitimate even when they're not.
Mark
What about the actual incidents? Portsmouth and Dover last weekend—how serious were those?
Luke
Serious enough. Two hundred men blocking roads, alleged assaults on police officers. But we should note: the Guardian reports these as alleged. We don't have confirmed charges or convictions yet.
Mimi
And in Dover, Kent police admitted they failed to act on Friday evening calls. That's a policing failure that probably fuelled the sense that authorities aren't doing their job.
Mark
So the groups claim they're filling a gap. Is there actually a gap, or is this narrative?
Luke
That's the crucial question, and the reporting doesn't fully answer it. We know police resources are stretched. But we don't know whether the specific concerns these groups raise—migrant-related crime, for instance—are actually underaddressed or whether they're inflating the problem.
Mimi
What we do know is that experts like Dr Ebner see this as dangerous. When trust in authorities erodes, people justify running their own policing. That can escalate quickly.
Mark
To violence?
Mimi
To violence, yes. Raise the Colours was slashing dinghies. The Belfast Nightwatch was targeting people based on skin colour. These aren't hypothetical concerns.
Der Puls
- In a single weekend, black-clad men in balaclavas blocked roads in Portsmouth and Dover, allegedly assaulting police officers and disrupting port traffic for hours — the most visible eruption yet of a movement that has been quietly multiplying.
- At least 28 anti-migrant vigilante groups have formed since summer 2025, spanning Belfast to the south coast, with a sharp spike following incidents at an asylum hotel and a provocative 'flag operation' in France.
- Groups like Raise the Colours have crossed into France to slash migrant dinghies, while Belfast Nightwatch targeted dark-skinned men on city streets demanding identification — actions experts describe as intimidation dressed in the language of community safety.
- Researchers warn that the groups' uniforms, patrols, and security equipment manufacture an aura of legitimacy that aids far-right recruitment, even as background checks reveal members with violent criminal histories.
- The Home Secretary has urged police to deploy their full powers against vigilante activity, while the National Police Chiefs' Council cautions that citizens taking enforcement into their own hands risk compromising investigations and endangering lives.
Across the United Kingdom, a quiet but accelerating fracture in civic trust has taken visible form: twenty-eight vigilante groups, most born within the last year, have appointed themselves guardians of borders and streets that elected authorities, in their view, have abandoned. From Glasgow's late-night patrols to Channel-side confrontations in France, these groups enact an old and dangerous idea — that when institutions fail, the people must arm themselves with authority they were never granted. Experts warn that this logic, however sincerely held by some, has historically served as the threshold between organised grievance and organised violence.
Twenty-eight anti-migrant vigilante groups have taken root across the United Kingdom in the past eighteen months, operating across a wide spectrum — from unauthorised street patrols near asylum accommodation to Channel-side confrontations in France and blockades of major transport routes. The geographic reach runs from Belfast to the south coast of England, and the growth has been sharp: nearly all of these groups emerged after the summer of 2025.
The tension came into sharp relief last weekend when roughly 200 black-clad men, many in balaclavas, gathered in Portsmouth after 120 asylum seekers rescued from a dinghy were brought ashore. Roads were blocked and several police officers were allegedly assaulted. At Dover, members of the far-right Patriot Platform disrupted port traffic for hours. Kent police later acknowledged that officers had failed to act on calls made the previous evening.
The groups share a common language: they claim to fill gaps left by overstretched or unwilling authorities. Scots Active conducts late-night patrols in Glasgow in stab-proof vests, framing its mission around protecting women and girls from migrants. The British Security Project recruits volunteers for 'visible deterrent patrols' and has stated an ambition to deploy 124,000 security personnel to public spaces by 2035 — while denying it is vigilante or anti-migrant in nature. Raise the Colours went further, travelling to France to film members allegedly slashing migrant dinghies on beaches; France subsequently banned ten of its members from the country.
Dr Julia Ebner of Oxford University described the figures as evidence of 'a rapid shift in the ways anti-migrant activists were mobilising,' warning that the core narrative — that authorities are incapable or unwilling to protect citizens — is particularly dangerous because it can quickly translate into justifications for violent campaigns. Researcher Alex MacKinnon of Hope Not Hate noted that while vigilantism has long existed on the far right, the current grassroots surge is unprecedented in scale, with many groups failing to vet members who turn out to have violent criminal histories.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged senior police officers to make full use of their powers to curb such activities. The National Police Chiefs' Council echoed the warning, cautioning that citizens taking enforcement into their own hands risk both personal danger and the integrity of legitimate investigations.
Twenty-eight anti-migrant vigilante groups have taken root across the United Kingdom in the past eighteen months, according to an analysis by the Guardian. They operate across a spectrum of activity: some conduct unauthorised street patrols near asylum accommodation claiming to protect women and children; others have travelled to France to confront migrants attempting Channel crossings; still others have blocked major transport routes. The geographic spread is wide—from Belfast in the north to the south coast of England—and the surge has been sharp, with most of these groups established since the summer of 2025.
The immediate catalyst for concern came last weekend, when black-clad figures, many wearing balaclavas, blocked roads in Portsmouth and Dover. In Portsmouth, roughly 200 men gathered after 120 asylum seekers rescued from a dinghy were brought ashore. They blocked roads and allegedly assaulted several police officers. At Dover, members of the far-right Patriot Platform disrupted traffic to and from the port for several hours. Kent police later acknowledged that officers had failed to act on calls made the previous evening, though they initially claimed to have received no warning.
These groups justify their activities in remarkably similar language. They argue they are filling gaps left by police or acting on migration issues the government cannot address. Scots Active conducts late-night patrols around Glasgow city centre, sometimes in balaclavas and stab-proof vests, claiming to protect the public from migrants and to ensure the safety of women and girls. The group was banned from TikTok earlier this year after sharing footage about migrant hotels. The British Security Project describes itself as a civilian safety organisation and recruits volunteers for "visible deterrent patrol" via its website and social media. On its Facebook page, it states an aim to "provide 124,000 security personnel to public spaces by 2035." When contacted by the Guardian, a spokesperson for the British Security Project denied it was vigilante or anti-migrant, saying it was "committed to lawful, peaceful and accountable volunteer action" and that it "expressly prohibits vigilantism, intimidation, racism and unlawful discrimination."
Raise the Colours took a different approach. Members made several trips to France in 2025 to attempt to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, filming themselves claiming to have slashed dinghies on French beaches. France subsequently banned ten members from the country. The Belfast Nightwatch First Division engaged in what authorities described as a campaign of intimidation last summer, targeting dark-skinned males in the city and challenging them to produce identification documents.
The rise has been remarkably recent. Of the 31 groups for which the Guardian could establish formation dates, 28 were set up since the summer of 2025. A spike occurred in August 2025 following Raise the Colours' flag operation and unrest at an asylum hotel in Epping. The Guardian classified groups as anti-migrant vigilantes only if they had taken the law into their own hands in opposition to migrants or asylum seekers, excluding conventional protest groups and far-right political parties from the count.
Dr Julia Ebner, an extremism expert at the University of Oxford, described the figures as showing "a rapid shift in the ways anti-migrant activists were mobilising." She identified a core narrative running through these groups: the claim that authorities are incapable or unwilling to protect citizens. "This is a dangerous dynamic," she said, "because when trust in authorities is undermined this can quickly translate into justifications of running their own policing operations or even violent campaigns." She also noted that groups amplify the narrative—spread widely on social media—that women and children are threatened by men of migrant backgrounds. The performative elements matter too: uniforms, patrols, and security equipment project authority and legitimacy even when groups are small, helping far-right movements recruit and generate visually appealing social media content.
Alex MacKinnon, a researcher at Hope Not Hate, acknowledged that vigilantism has long been part of far-right activism but stressed the dramatic increase in grassroots efforts over the last eighteen months. He noted that while vigilante groups claim to protect the community, most do not properly vet members, resulting in several being exposed for violent criminal histories. "They regularly engage in intimidatory behaviour," he said, "and often promote aggressive anti-migrant agendas, using 'community protection' as a cover for racist thuggery."
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, urged police on Thursday to curb such activities, telling senior officers to make full use of their powers. The National Police Chiefs' Council responded by emphasising the importance of reporting concerns to police, noting that officers are specially trained to respond safely and lawfully. "While we understand people may want to protect their communities," a spokesperson said, "taking enforcement into your own hands can be dangerous, and could compromise a police investigation."
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
At the heart of most vigilante groups is the claim that the authorities are incapable or unwilling to protect a country's citizens. This is a dangerous dynamic, because when trust in authorities is undermined this can quickly translate into justifications of running their own policing operations or even violent campaigns.— Dr Julia Ebner, extremism expert, University of Oxford
They regularly engage in intimidatory behaviour, and often promote aggressive anti-migrant agendas, using 'community protection' as a cover for racist thuggery.— Alex MacKinnon, researcher, Hope Not Hate
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