An RNLI volunteer in Portsmouth who was subjected to online abuse says he is not a ‘traitor’ after being wrongly accused of helping migrants arriving by small boats.
Neil and other RNLI crew members were filmed near Portsmouth Harbour during anti-migrant protests on Sunday after 120 asylum seekers crossed the Channel from Normandy.
Activists posted the footage online and falsely claimed the crew helped the migrants reach the shore. Some posts even urged users to ‘name and shame’ the volunteers.
The posts were viewed at least 2million times, some including incorrect names of RNLI crew members, leading to intense online abuse from anti-migrant social media users.
However Neil said the lifeboat was there to illuminate the beach and protect protesters who had entered the water – not to assist the migrants.
He received abusive messages, including calls to deny him service in pubs and for his family to be tracked down. At least one post was removed by X for breaking its rules.
Last night 60 people gathered outside RNLI’s premises in Poole, Dorset, to voice their concerns that more migrant boats could arrive on the South Coast.
The protest came days after the ‘mega-dinghy’ of asylum seekers was rescued by two RNLI boats in the middle of the English Channel and those aboard were taken to Eastney, Portsmouth.
An RNLI volunteer in Portsmouth, identified as Neil, was wrongly accused online of helping migrants reach Britain
Around 60 anti-immigration protesters gathered outside the RNLI headquarters in Poole, Dorset, on Wednesday to protest the charity’s involvement in rescuing migrants
The protest followed the rescue of around 140 migrants by two RNLI lifeboats, who were eventually brought ashore at Eastney, Portsmouth.
The boats were refused permission to dock at both Southampton Port or Portsmouth Harbour. The crews were reportedly warned that entering either port or its approaches could result in criminal prosecution.
As a result, the migrants landed at Eastney, triggering a standoff between some 500 protesters and emergency services. Demonstrators blocked local roads to prevent authorities from moving the arrivals to an immigration processing centre in Kent.
Yesterday anti-migrant campaigners Poole Patriots joined the protest outside the RNLI’s HQ 50 miles from Portsmouth, accusing the charity of perpetrating criminal activity by helping to bring in unvetted young men.
Some protesters even handed out rape alarms to women and girls present, saying ‘we need to protect ourselves’.
One protester said: ‘We are here as a peaceful vigil because of the rape victims, the sexual assault and stab victims, because the RNLI are facilitating bringing these undocumented, unvetted men of fighting age onto our shores.
‘They are coming in boatloads at a time and now further along our coast, which is obviously a problem. We already have 615 immigrants in our hotels in the Bournemouth area.
Speakers described the protest as a peaceful demonstration of patriotic concerns, while calling for the RNLI to stop transporting or assisting migrants
The RNLI increased security and closed much of its public-facing facilities during the two-hour protest
‘The RNLI have perpetrated bringing them in as a taxi service, they are perpetrating rapes and criminal activity. As close as Portsmouth is to us, we do not want that.
‘Would you leave the front door open to any Tom, Dick and Harry? The answer should be no.’
The protesters said they had nothing against the RNLI volunteers who risk their lives but blamed their bosses.
Army veteran Steve, from the group Hampshire Resistance in Gosport, said: ‘I’m here because I’m a patriot and I want to help and support other patriots. We are all in this together. We love our country, I served my country.
‘It isn’t the RNLI’s fault, they’re just going by orders. It’s a shame because we do need lifeboats but this is more important to stop this invasion.
‘I know sometimes what we do isn’t going to make an impact, but if we don’t protest nobody is going to know there’s a problem.
‘The only way to win this is to take back the power and the only way to do that is vote them out. The Government is panicking and turning the country into chaos.’
Other campaigners spoke through a microphone connected to a speaker, calling on the RNLI to stop facilitating the migrants to the claps and cheers of other protesters.
Some protesters linked immigration to rape, sexual assault and violent crime, and handed out rape alarms to women and girls at the demonstration
Protestors called for the RNLI to stop acting as a ‘taxi service’ for asylum seekers
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Should the RNLI face criticism for rescuing migrants, or is their duty to save lives above politics?
One woman said: ‘It’s about what happens afterwards. These men are coming into our communities and the Government are handing them pamphlets on how not to rape.
‘They don’t live by our rules. The Left are so righteous. They say we stand for women’s rights, no you don’t because if you did you would be demanding answers.
‘Every single day there’s a rape or a murder. You’re forgetting the victims. You think these men on dinghies are the victims, they are not persecuted, they are cowards.
‘If your country is at war you stay and fight for your country, you don’t go through 11 countries to get here and leave your women and children behind. They are coming here to fleece us for everything.’
There was a heavy police presence throughout the two-hour demonstration, and the RNLI also brought in their own security staff.
Most of the building’s public areas, including the viewing platform and cafe, were closed and only one entrance in and out of it was open.
A large memorial sculpture outside the building dedicated to RNLI volunteers who have lost their lives was cordoned off and covered to protect it ahead of the protest.
Protester Tom, from Portsmouth, said: ‘The police presence is just not required. We are not here to cause trouble. We are here to speak as patriots about our concerns.’
