Protesters cover Gosport Wetherspoon pub in poppies after veterans were turned away for wearing a 'political symbol'

Security staff at The Star in Gosport, Hampshire, barred a group of six from entry on Sunday afternoon, telling them poppies constituted a "political symbol" subject to a "blanket ban." JD Wetherspoon denied operating a poppy ban, claiming extra security measures were in place due to local protests, but acknowledged some customers wearing poppies were turned away.

Reform UK councillor George Madgwick, who led the group after a campaigning session, called their treatment 'disgusting and shameful' and said the veterans wore no party logos or flags.

Demonstrators plastered poppy stickers across the pub's windows and sign, with crowds outside waving Union Jacks and a banner reading 'Traitors.'

Gosport has been a flashpoint for migration tensions, with ministers criticised last month over plans to convert a local sea fort into a migrant processing centre less than a mile from Britain's largest planned immigration detention centre.