Lifeboats helped anti-migrant protesters, RNLI says

Lifeboat crews helped to ensure the safety of anti-migrant protesters in the sea off Portsmouth, the RNLI has said.

On Sunday, demonstrators blocked roads to try to stop 140 cross-Channel migrants who were brought ashore at Eastney with the RNLI's assistance.

In an email to volunteers, RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes said many protesters were in or near the water and four lifeboats stood by for their safety.

On Tuesday, Sparkes said RNLI staff had been subjected to online and physical abuse as a result of their life-saving work in the English Channel.

Posts on X, which have been seen hundreds of thousands of times, shared photos of RNLI volunteers who allegedly attended the incident.

Some of those posting accused the volunteers of "treason" in connection with the rescue.

BBC Verify tracked down Neil, one of the volunteers in the pictures. The BBC is not using his full name.

He said: "We were tasked to Langstone Harbour to carry out illumination of the beach for safety of the protesters.

"We were there, as I said, purely for the safety of the protesters that were in the water.

"It would be nice for those people who call me a traitor to know that I'm not a traitor."

In his email, Sparkes said lifeboat crews from Cowes, Hayling Island, Portsmouth and Selsey were tasked to assist with the casualties.

He added that they were there "to also stand by for safety reasons while large numbers of protesters were in and near the water".

The email to staff continued: "You are all empowered to make decisions to keep yourself, your colleagues and your teams as safe as possible...

"This may also take the form of... choosing not to wear RNLI branded clothing when representing our charity in public."

Vikki Slade, one of the MPs for Poole where the RNLI is based, said she had heard of charity workers being told to remove branding from their cars.

She said: "I've had local residents who work for the RNLI tell me that they've been told to work from home, to vary their journey and even to remove their RNLI car stickers.

"I've also been to protests at the RNLI where they've been under attack from people who've travelled in specifically to target the RNLI and I think there's a real fear in the town that this is happening again."

In parliament on Tuesday, the Liberal Democrat MP asked about online protection for RNLI workers.

Digital Secretary Lisa Nandy said she had spoken with tech firms about how the names, addresses and photographs of RNLI staff and volunteers were reportedly shared.

She told the Commons: "It is something that the government is concerned about [and] I'm personally concerned about."