A second police force has come under fire after a video emerged showing officers escorting pro-migrant activists to a protest outside an asylum seeker hotel.
Officers from Hampshire police were filmed walking alongside anti-racism counter-protesters to Potters International Hotel in Aldershot, where migrants are staying.
The footage, filmed on May 10, comes as Essex Police this week faced fierce criticism after a similar video showed officers escorting counter-protesters to the Bell Hotel in Epping, last week.
The row led to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for Essex Police’s chief constable, BJ Harrington, to resign on Wednesday – something the senior officer has firmly rejected.
Meanwhile, top police campaigners have warned the violence that embroiled Epping could act as a ‘signal flare’ for similar waves of chaos, which could spread across the UK this summer.
The latest clip of officers ‘bussing’ counter-protesters saw one activist brandishing a placard supporting the campaign Stand Up to Racism – which is partly funded by trade unions and led by suspended Labour MP, Diane Abbott.
The group is already planning to mobilise scores of its supporters to take part in a series of planned counter-protests outside migrant hotels this weekend.
But the presence of the left-wing activists has reportedly led to violence erupting at previous rallies, with anti-asylum seeker demonstrators in Epping saying it is what triggered the chaotic scenes of disorder in the Essex town on July 17.
Police made 16 arrests and have so far charged five people with violent disorder, with officers accusing a small group of people of acting ‘thuggishly’ and using the peaceful demonstration to commit ‘criminal’ acts.
Hampshire police has come under fire after a video showed officers escorting pro-migrant counter-protesters to a protest outside an asylum seeker hotel in Aldershot
The activists were attending the demonstration in May – with footage emerging this week
Some of the pro-migrant protesters at the demonstration in Aldershot. Some were carrying Stand Up to Racism signs while surrounded by police
It comes amid a row after Essex Police were seen escorting counter-demonstrators from a nearby station to the Bell Hotel in Epping on July 17
Commenting on the footage from Hampshire, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader told the Telegraph: ‘It is simply not the police’s job to facilitate protest. It is their job to make sure there is peace on the streets.
‘If you come to counter protests you’re asking for trouble, and it’s not the police’s job to facilitate that. By doing so, they run the risk of bringing people there who are out to cause trouble. It makes no sense at all.’
However, a leading policing campaigner has hit back and slammed those criticising the officers for ‘simply doing their job’.
Norman Brennan, a veteran former London police officer with three decades of experience, said he supported the anti-migrant demonstrators.
However, the retired officer-turned policing campaigner told MailOnline: ‘Police have a duty to people. They have a job to do.
‘You can’t criticise the police for doing something that they’re paid to do – that’s keeping the peace. You can’t have a pop for the police simply doing their job.
‘It’s like football matches when you have two rival teams, you have duty of care to ensure both are protected.
‘The police would have known there are likely to be agitators there. However, as people have a lawful right to protest, police escorted them. It’s part of their job.
Police were seen standing guard between the two groups of protesters during the demonstration in May
Counter-protesters arrived with flags and signs saying they ‘refugees welcome’
The protest in Aldershot was arranged by Turning Point UK, which was demonstrating against the migrant hotel in the Hampshire town (pictured are counter protesters being escorted)
An officer is seen standing on one side of the road as colleagues escort counter-protesters
‘Those police officers probably didn’t even want to be there but they were tasked with keeping the peace. And in keeping the peace, police might do something which one side of the demonstration will take a disliking to, accusing them of taking sides.’
He added the criticism faced by some officers was unfair and pointed the finger of blame at the ‘violent agitators’ who turn up at demonstrations not to peacefully protest but to try and deliberately cause mayhem.
‘Police don’t want conflict. But we have got a very angry nation. We have these belligerent people who are angry and violent and turn up at these protests to cause mayhem. They’re the problem, not the police,’ Mr Brennan added.
The latest video to emerge was filmed when Turning Point UK was demonstrating alongside local activists Rushmoor People First.
Some of the pro-migrant protesters were seen wearing masks, glasses and hoodies to cover their faces. Others held banners saying ‘refugees welcome’.
While the anti-migrant protesters carried Union flags and plaques with slogans like ‘pensioners before migrants’, ‘illegals housed here’ and ‘house Brits on waiting lists’. These activists did not appear to be wearing face masks.
Hampshire Constabulary has insisted officers ‘engage’ with those attending the demonstration to ‘ensure they know where they can safely protest’.
However, a spokesman for Turning Point UK said it was growing ‘increasingly appalled’ to see officers escorting ‘far-Left agitators’ to protests.
Anti-migrant activists arrived at the site with their own signs during the Aldershot protest
Others arrived to protest the migrants while carrying Union flags on their shoulders
Ben-Julian Harrington (pictured) rejected calls from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to step down as chief constable of Essex Police earlier this week
Anti-immigration protesters confront a cordon of riot police officers preventing them from getting near a small group of counter-protesters in Epping on July 17
Bottles and smoke flares thrown towards police vehicles stationed outside The Bell Hotel on July 20
A spokesman for Hampshire police said: ‘Protests outside Potters International Hotel regularly take place on an area of land which backs directly onto a busy A road, running between Aldershot and Farnborough.
‘Therefore, there is only one direction for people attending from Aldershot town centre or the nearby housing estate to arrive.
‘Officers engage with those attending, and ensure they know where they can safely protest both in advance and on the day.
‘Policing protests requires us to balance the rights of those lawfully protesting and the rights of others to go about their lives without being subject to unacceptable disruption, whilst keeping the public safe.
‘Protests organised by Rushmoor People First and attended by counter-protesters this year have all concluded with no disorder, thanks to proactive engagement with police by protest organisers and the decisions made by officers on the ground to safely facilitate attending groups.’
