Andy Burnham says "politics of poison" is seeping into streets over anti‑migrant protests

Masked anti-migrant demonstrators blocked the Port of Dover on Saturday, and a separate Portsmouth protest led to a standoff in which official vehicles were damaged and police were hurt. More than 200 people also tried to stop buses from carrying asylum-seekers who had arrived by boat near the Isle of Wight. Responding to that unrest, Andy Burnham said Labour should respond with a hopeful, unifying approach and must not allow divisive political language to take hold in everyday public life. A policing minister described the Dover organisers as racist and far-right, while the Conservative home-affairs spokesman blamed government migration policy for public anger and called for stronger border measures. Burnham’s comments came as Labour shaped its message before its autumn conference.