RNLI volunteers have reportedly been approached in public over the charity's work in the English Channel, and their children have been bullied at school for the same reason. The lifeboat service responds to small boats when tasked by the coastguard, with these boats generally in distress and requiring specialist rescue skills.
Abuse and harassment of volunteers
Crews have faced abuse for several years for rescuing migrants in the Channel. According to a report by the Times, the leader of a lifeboat crew in Portsmouth said two crew members' children had been harassed by fellow pupils over their fathers' volunteer work. The leader also said volunteers had been confronted while shopping and socialising in pubs.
In one instance, a lifeboat crew was trapped inside its boathouse for two hours during a protest at Eastney harbour led by Daniel Thomas, a far-right activist. During the incident, volunteers from other RNLI stations were tasked with ensuring the safety of anti-migrant protesters who entered the sea.
Online threats and misinformation
Images of the faces of lifeboat volunteers involved in the protest and the rescue of a migrant boat were circulated online, alongside calls to identify them. One widely shared post on X urged people to "get their family".
Callouts of this nature, however, constitute only 1.7 per cent of the charity's total. In 2025, 41,472 people crossed the Channel, but only 2,353, or 5.7 per cent, were rescued by the RNLI.
Charity chief executive responds
Peter Sparkes, the charity's chief executive, said there had been "deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding" about RNLI tasking and how it responded in the Channel. "Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse," he said.
"The RNLI's people represent the very best in our society, they selflessly give up their time to keep others safe. Yet they and their families are being threatened by those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard. Their action, in contrast, is wholly unacceptable in a civilised society."
