Police were slow to react to an “exceptionally well organised” protest that ground the Port of Dover to a halt for hours, a council boss has said.

Kevin Mills, who leads Dover District Council, told the BBC that demonstrators “caught several agencies on the hoof” when they arrived on Saturday.

Hundreds of masked men chanting “stop the boats” blocked roads, causing miles of tailbacks and preventing access to the port.

Kent Police is yet to comment, but cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said officers “did deal with it swiftly”.

Mills said the force “appeared to be quite slow to keep the roads and the networks open, which is disappointing”.

“The protesters knew what they were doing, I’m not sure the police did know what was going to happen,” he told the BBC.

“But then I accept that the police resource is stretched.”

The Labour councillor said “no-one actually knew” what was happening on Saturday morning and there “needs to be a wash-up over that”.

“All in all it was a pretty traumatic day for a lot of people travelling, trying to get around their business,” he said.

Kent Police said on Saturday that officers made no arrests and described it as a “spontaneous protest”.

Mills added that the council later received complaints from villagers in Preston, where “protesters appear to have parked their vehicles before they came in”.

Chris Vinson, leader of the council’s Conservative group, previously said the men had “loaded into rental vans” and then travelled to the town.

Reynolds, speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, condemned the protest.

“Peaceful protest is an essential part of British life but that is not what we saw there with that kind of intimidatory behaviour,” the business secretary said.

“I feel sorry for the people around Dover and the people disrupted by that.”

Police have not yet commented on who was behind the demonstration, which lasted from 07:00 BST to about 11:30.

Anti-hate organisation Hope Not Hate claimed the Patriot Platform network arranged it, saying the group began meeting in July and had brought together members of anti-migrant groups from around the country.

Demonstrators told the BBC they did not want to talk to the media, although one said “send them back” and another said “stop the boats” when approached on Saturday.

Far-right activists Tommy Robinson and Danny Thomas both posted about it on X, praising those involved.

Thomas wrote: “The experience on the ground today, was the overwhelming majority of the women and local people we spoke to were thankful that people were actually doing something.”

He praised protesters for showing “discipline” and said they had “stuck to the plan”.

Reynolds said that Robinson and others like him were “not interested in solving genuine problems this country has”.

“They want to exploit their online following and take money from the people willing to follow them online, and that’s what that agenda is,” he said.

“This government is about solving the problems that really make a difference to people’s lives.”

Great Yarmouth MP and leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, said his party “proudly stands with those peacefully protesting against illegal immigration in Dover”.

In a video on X, he said wearing balaclavas was “undesirable” but “perfectly fair for people living in this Orwellian age”.

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