Southampton Police have confirmed via social media that three men who were “shouting about starting fights” at Sunday’s (1/3/26) protests and on whom the Police used their powers under a dispersal order, stated that they were attending the “Southampton Patriots” march and rally.
On Sunday, around 60 people gathered in Portswood to march to Southampton Guildhall Square for a “Southampton Patriots” rally. Meanwhile, around 250 people took part in a “Unite Against the Far Right” counter-demonstration march, from a separate location in Portswood, to the city’s Peace Fountain.
An initial statement put out by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Southampton Police reported that police had used their powers under a dispersal order but did not state which march those involved had been attending.
The statement said: “While we had no incidents during the marches on Sunday, our teams did have to use dispersal powers prior to them beginning. Officers identified three people arriving at the initial gatherings, who were already shouting about starting fights. These three men were not from Hampshire, and a decision was made to implement and enforce a dispersal order to ensure they left the area without being able to follow through on their stated plans.”
However, after numerous posts from members of the public on the Southampton Police Facebook page that the agitators were “Antifa” and/or members of the “Unite Against the Far Right” demonstration, Southampton Police stated that the trio were from the “Southampton Patriots” event.
In a response to a post on their Facebook page they said: “Hi… we have covered our reasons for not saying. But if collectively you wish to persist trying to accuse other people, we are happy to clarify, they stated they were there to attend the Patriots march. The reality is, that isn’t what was important, it never was, but we can state these things if we must to ensure it cannot be misrepresented.”
Elsewhere under the initial post they responded to a shocking post from a member of the public wishing violence on the families of local police.
This person wrote: “Can’t wait till the police families start being affected..maybe a daughter groomed..a son stabbed..see how they feel ..got me popcorn ready.”
Southampton Police responded: “Evening…, surely you actually see it’s weird behaviour to wish this kind of thing on anyone? We don’t make policy decisions, we don’t decide where people are housed, but we have investigated and charged those who have committed crimes.”
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