Pakistan U-19 team mistaken for asylum seekers by masked protesters in Portsmouth

A group of masked protesters gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth after mistakenly believing that asylum seekers were being accommodated there, when the people staying at the hotel were actually members of Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team.

The incident was reported by The Guardian on Wednesday, which said around 40 people, many wearing balaclavas or other face coverings, gathered outside the Marriott hotel after reports that a group of apparently foreign men had arrived there by coach.

Reform councillor George Madgwick, whose ward includes the hotel and who leads the Reform group on Hampshire Council, was called to the scene to help mediate between hotel staff and the assembled crowd.

Madgwick said the hotel manager explained that the guests were members of Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team, who are touring England and using the Marriott as their base.

He also spoke to the team’s coach and was shown proof that the men were cricketers before approaching the protesters.

“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,” Madgwick said.

He added that the misunderstanding had emerged after residents reported seeing around 40 men who did not appear to be English arriving at the hotel, while the coach transporting them was operated by the same company used to transport asylum seekers who had recently arrived in the city.

“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,” he said.

Madgwick acknowledged that it was far from ideal for a masked group to gather outside a hotel simply because a group of apparently foreign men had arrived there.

“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,” he said.

The incident came amid heightened tensions in Portsmouth following protests over asylum seekers arriving in the city by small boats from France.

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

A day earlier, crowds dressed in black and wearing balaclavas blocked roads around the port of Dover for several hours. Far-right activist Daniel Thomas, who is closely linked to Tommy Robinson, claimed to have organised both demonstrations.

Madgwick said he was at home on Tuesday evening when he was informed that around 40 people had gathered outside the Marriott after reports that asylum seekers were staying there.

He subsequently published a Facebook post urging people to stay away from the hotel, writing that reports of migrants staying at the Marriott were incorrect.

“At the hotel, as well as speaking to the hotel staff and team coach, Madgwick was shown ‘proof’ that the men were indeed cricketers,” The Guardian reported.

Madgwick later made his Facebook post private after it attracted abusive comments.

Following the incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) contacted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to check on the wellbeing of the players and is reviewing security arrangements for the remainder of the squad’s tour.

For the unversed, Pakistan Under-19 recently faced England Under-19 in a four-day Test last week, where they suffered a 10-run defeat.

On Wednesday, the Green Shirts won the Youth ODI series opener by 177 runs after scoring 332-9 while batting first and bowling out England for 155.

The second ODI of the four-match Youth series will take place at Woodbridge Road in Guildford on Saturday.