london —
Early September can be a difficult time for the British Coast Guard as beachgoers try to stretch out the last days of the summer season.
But this year, lifeboat volunteers along England’s southern coastline are faced with an unexpected new obstacle: the far right.
Volunteers with Britain’s Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), a charity funded largely by donations, have faced a barrage of assaults and allegations of treason in recent days after evacuating migrants to safety last weekend amid massive anti-immigration protests.
The charity’s chief executive, Peter Sparks, said such abuse was “completely unacceptable in a civilized society” and vowed to continue supporting “anyone who needs our help”.
The backlash comes as anti-immigrant sentiment has surfaced in some parts of the country, even as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats has fallen to its lowest level since 2020, according to the Home Office.
Hundreds of protesters wearing balaclavas clashed with police in the southern English coastal city of Portsmouth on Sunday night after a small boat carrying migrants entered Langstone Harbour.
A similar protest took place in Dover on Saturday, with a group of masked men dressed in black chanting “stop the boats”.
In Portsmouth, a group of far-right agitators first tried to prevent migrants from disembarking in lifeboats, then sought to block buses transporting asylum seekers to processing facilities.
The protest appears to have been organized by a group called Patriot Platform, led by Daniel Thomas, a former associate of anti-Muslim far-right political activist Tommy Robinson.
Britain’s Police Minister Sarah Jones said on Monday that the RNLI had acted “in accordance with instructions” from the British Coastguard to meet a boat carrying around 120 people and take it to the Portsmouth area.
“A group of over 200 protesters arrived at the port with the intention of blocking three buses that were scheduled to process arriving passengers,” Jones said.
The RNLI said that as a result of its involvement, staff were subjected to a wave of online abuse, at worst physical abuse, and posts on social media calling them “traitors”.
“These two helped facilitate last night’s invasion of Britain,” one social media user wrote on X, while sharing an image of an RNLI volunteer. “I don’t know how they look in the mirror.”
Rumors have also been circulating that asylum seekers are being held on RNLI grounds, which the organization has denied as “completely unfounded and false”.
“Recent events have led to deliberate misinformation and misunderstanding about the RNLI, our purpose, our mission and in particular our life-saving work in the Channel,” Mr Sparks said.
According to the BBC, volunteers have been told they don’t have to wear RNLI-branded clothing if it makes them feel safer when representing the charity in public.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “People who put themselves at risk to save lives should not be abused at any level and we are working with the RNLI to ensure they are supported.”
Mr Sparkes said only a small portion of the RNLI’s overall rescue operations were concentrated in the English Channel, with most migrants rescued in the region being picked up by the British Border Force.
He said on Tuesday: “Illegal immigration is a political issue. The RNLI exists to save lives at sea.” “If anyone needs our help, we’re always available to answer the phone.”
