02 August 2024 , 14:54
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Hampshire Police are investigating after protests outside the Potters International Hotel on Wednesday night.
Police have released images of seven people they are looking to identify after "criminal activity" at a protest outside a hotel housing migrants in Aldershot.
Hampshire Police said one of their officers suffered a minor injury in the disruption outside the Potters International Hotel on Wednesday evening.
They say a minority of the 200 people present at the protest began engaging in criminal activity at around 6.45pm, with cases of criminal damage, racial abuse, and intimidation.
Officers are "keen to identify" the people in the images provided as part of their investigation, Hampshire Police said in a statement.
"Do you know the people pictured? Do you have any information that could assist our investigation?"
One individual originally among those pictured has since been identified.
Police are reviewing evidence from their officers’ body-worn cameras, footage captured by the National Police Air Service and local CCTV cameras.
There have been several incidents of unrest across the country after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport on Monday.
However, police have not linked the disruption to the Southport attack.
Alex Baker, Labour MP for Aldershot, said the situation had been "exacerbated" by people from outside the local community "determined to cause unrest".
"There is no justification for disorderly behaviour and these scenes do not represent Aldershot and Farnborough," she said.
"We all support our shared right to peacefully protest, but we will not stand for people coming to our towns determined to stir up trouble and divide our community."
Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo said: "The swift and decisive actions of our officers saw this incident brought under control, preventing further harm to the community in Aldershot.
"Our specialist teams are working hard to identify anyone who has committed a criminal offence and we will take swift and robust action against those people.
"Everyone has the right to free speech and peaceful protest. However, officers will take a robust stance against those whose behaviour falls below the standard we expect and who choose to act outside of the law."