Attacks and abuse directed at RNLI volunteers following a major migrant rescue involving Isle of Wight lifeboat crews “absolutely beggar belief”, the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council has said.
Councillor Jonathan Bacon made the comments at a Full Council meeting at County Hall earlier this week (16th September), saying there had been “a lot of misinformation” surrounding migration and “wholly inappropriate comment” on social media.
His remarks follow abuse directed at RNLI crews after the rescue of migrants in the English Channel earlier this month.
The RNLI has confirmed that its Portsmouth lifeboat station has been temporarily taken off service after volunteers were targeted for helping migrants at sea.
It follows an incident in Portsmouth in which 2 crew members were named and pictured online by protesters.
As previously reported by Island Echo, lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth were tasked at around 10:35 on 6th September to a large migrant dinghy around halfway between the Isle of Wight and Cherbourg.
More than 150 migrants were subsequently brought ashore at Eastney, where Police in riot gear were deployed as protesters gathered.
The RNLI’s Chief Executive, Peter Sparkes, later revealed that volunteers and staff – including those from Bembridge and Yarmouth – had been subjected to online abuse and, in the worst cases, physical abuse.
He blamed what he described as “deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding” about the charity, its purpose and the way its crews are tasked.
Speaking at County Hall this week, Councillor Bacon has said:
“I would like to comment briefly on the migrant issue. There’s been a lot of misinformation and particularly on social media a lot of wholly inappropriate comment.
“The attacks on the RNLI absolutely beggar belief.”
Councillor Bacon said councillors had also received correspondence earlier in the summer from a group based in Wootton which raised the issue and, he said, made “certain assumptions”.
Addressing suggestions surrounding asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight, Councillor Bacon has said:
“There is currently no asylum dispersal accommodation on the Island, and the Home Office has not established any…nor has it plans that we’re aware of to do so.
“In respect of asserted fears about migrants being landed on the Island, there are no facilities and the likelihood of this happening is absolutely minimal.”
The Isle of Wight Council said following the incident that Border Force had confirmed those involved in the crossing would not be brought ashore on the Isle of Wight and that the intention throughout was for them to be landed on the mainland and transported to Kent.
The authority also said it had received no notification that the Isle of Wight was being considered as a location for the disembarkation or processing of people arriving on small boats.
Councillor Bacon told Wednesday’s meeting that there had never been any question of the migrants involved in the incident being brought to the Isle of Wight.
He added that the Island’s RNLI crews became involved because there was no other resource available.
The RNLI previously said it would take whatever steps it could to protect its volunteers, staff and their families following the threats and abuse.
If I was swimming or on a inflatable (of sorts) in the sea let’s say off Egypt point in cowes as an example and came into difficulty and needed to be rescued would the rnli take me to France……………. The answer is no they wouldn’t.
Those immigrants that they picked up should have been taken back to the place they came from. This massive invasion of illegal immigrants is being orchestrated by our own government.
They said recently that the numbers of boats crossing the channel is going down, they don’t account for the fact that these mega dinghys can carry hundreds of people.
France is a safe country, so why come here?? It doesn’t make sense when we can’t even look after ourselves let alone the new invaders.
What is wrong with having a choice where one wants to
go, it’s a free country.
Migrants have been coming to the UK for years and to other
countries.
Also hundreds of thousands of people emigrate from the UK
each year including many British nationals.
That’s life!
There is totally nothing wrong with Legal Migration and as you say Migrants have been coming here for years Legally. It’s the ILLEGAL migration that is causing the problems. ILLEGAL MEANS ILLEGAL until it doesn’t
And it stops being illegal the moment these desperate individuals reach the UK and claim asylum.
I’d like to “stop the boats” as much as the racist thugs who follow Daniel Thomas and his misnamed Patriots.
But unlike him, I’d like to see the UK provide safe routes for asylum seekers to reach our shores, rather than risking their lives in the dangerous boats supplied by organised gangs.
Migration is the tool we need to boost the UK economy and expand our cultural diversity.
I live alongside migrants here on the Island and couldn’t be happier. More of the same please.
Many things in life are illegal yet nothing gets done
about it.
If their countries were not obliviated they wouldn’t
have needed to come.
When will you people get it through your heads the way of ENTRY is illegal because they didn’t come with the necessary paperwork. Once here they APPLY for the paperwork and that is why they are then given LEGAL status to remain.
‘Illegal migration’ is an oxymoron.
So what then, is the problem? If illegal is illegal until it isn’t, is it then ok with you? If so, you really need to all get a bloody life. Or go and moan about ‘illegal’ entry to festival gates, or ‘illegal’ entry to parking spaces for those without a child with them…the list is endless.
Well said TOSH. When the shit shits the fan (and it will) people like woke’RAT’i and enough (shouldn’t be allowed to breathe) is enough will be begging for our help. It’s people like them that sympathize with these terrorists. Wake the fuck up. RESTORE BRITAIN.
Begging for your help?
That’s hilarious! I’d no more seek your assistance than I would offer you mine.
When as you so eloquently put it “the shit shits (sic) the fan” it’ll be because cowardly ultranationalist racists hiding behind balaclavas will start it.
I’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder with the forces of law and order.
I recognise asylum seekers and refugees as desperate human beings, not terrorists. If you’re “terrorised” by vulnerable people seeking help, you’re obviously rather easily startled.
I served in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. I know why vulnerable people seek refuge from war. I understand why they send fit young men to establish a bridgehead. I value living in a diverse culture that welcomes strangers.
I stand beside refugees and against narrow-minded bigotry.
As a side note, I wonder if your hope to “restore Britain” (whatever that might mean?) will include using UK English spelling of words like “sympathise”?
Well said… We’re sick of being invaded. Let the French step up and do the job We’re paying them millions to do..
We’re not being “invaded”..
You win dopiest far-right post of the week.
Obviously a typical uneducated Reformer.
You got the biggest cunt of the century award, what’s your point.
My response has vanished?
A glitch or an editorial decision..!?
Why don’t you do some investigating and find out why? Just reading the news is obviously not giving you all the answers you need.
No: the number of people is down 44% against the same period last year. Why don’t you check your facts before saying stuff on a public forum that is untrue?
I assume you are aware that until Brexit (so hard fought for by Nigel Farage) and the government which delivered it (headed by one Boris Johnson) the Dublin Treaty arrangements enabled the UK to return those who had no claimed asylum in a safe country they had passed through. That was thrown away. Always a good idea to get you facts in order before your fingers hit the keyboard
Cllr Bacon is quite right, the RNLI have been doing a
great job for just over 200 years and they do not
deserve this treatment.
They have been saving lives for years and sadly over 600
of these brave persons have lost their lives at sea whilst
saving others.
The country would be lost without this wonderful service.
Keep up the brave work guys, it is only a small minority of
uneducated persons who are causing unnecessary hassle
for the RNLI, the majority of us educated persons appreciate
the great work you do day in day out, don’t let numpties
deter you from what you do, you are all amazing.
All lives matter!
150 illegal bastard’s don’t need or want so bought them here instead of returning to France..
The RNLI needs time stop taxiing illegals to our shores. The French escorts them to our waters… We’ve had enough.
Who is the “we” who has had enough?
It’s certainly not everyone.
Many people are delighted by the cultural diversity that comes with migration.
The freedom of movement that was lost with the disastrous decision to leave the European Union is still mourned by many.
The UK is not by its nature an insular state. Migration, tolerance and friendship are the cornerstones of what put the Great into Britain.
Isolationist, far-right nationalism of the kind peddled by Farage, Yaxley-Lennon and their ilk will destroy the UK.
Well said
Did you know it would be illegal to do a forced turnaround or even an interception at sea when no crimes have been committed and lives could be put in danger? No authority, neither French or English would do it. There aren’t even capacity or registration rules on a dingy. Not a crime, sail where you want. It’s why the French could only shadow them.
Migrants are not illegal until they cannot produce the correct visas once landed. Even then they themselves are not criminals and are not ‘illegal’, they simply entered without the correct paperwork.
Like trying to get through the gate with the wrong wristband on at the festival. Think how many ‘illegals’ must have been there.
Stop ferrying illegals into the uk then..read the room, they arent wanted
Whilst all normal people would see that there is no excuse for anyone to take out their anger on the crew members, or indeed on any RNLI property, this does go to show the growing feelings of otherwise normal peoples reactions when their feelings are ignored by current and past Governments over this subject.
Whilst a small percentage of the protesters may be deemed merely racist, it must surely be apparent to council leaders, to MP’s and to current and past PM’s, that the British people, who have always accepted small amounts of new people, who applied to arrive here and would be a benefit to both them and ourselves was fine.
But to have a never ending, in the true sense of the words, amounts of arrivals, is not acceptable.
Whilst asylum rules were made to allow the rare arrival of say a political leader in a foreign country to flee from IF in danger of their lives from a coup or similar, the system was not put in place for us to house anyone just wishing to have and easier, or better life because they have been born in a poorer country.
So to self harm to gain a few scars, and A.I a suitable tale of woe to recount to UK immigration officials via your smartphone once you have arrived is a very small price to pay for these people who will then eventually gain a free home, free health care, free education for all their children whether living with them or in costly Foster and adoption homes, and a very liveable income whether you choose to work or not is clearly very tempting for normal poor country inhabitants.
More so if you are a criminal where sentences will be harsher and prison even more so.
So the Governments should take some of the blame for the rising anger of the British people AND its many decent immigrants already living here, for it the cost, the overcrowding and the knock on effects of increases in rent, property prices due to supply and demand and the increase in water, sewage, energy consumption by those who can’t pay, will all be met by those that can, just about pay they way. Add the truth of the cost of imprisonment of many and surely any fool can see protesters are getting desperate.
So NO excuse for any attacks on RNLI personal or property, but I guess the ignorant see it as one way of gaining attention of their disgust of lack of Government understanding of a growing number of the publics feelings, both in the UK, all across Europe and now sadly the once immune Isle of Wight.
Don’t know if you are allowed to publish anything other than far left views nowadays. But most people are now being pushed too far right but not for no reason. A very sad state of affairs with time only going to make it ever worse now.
The reason is obvious….many people are dining out on mis-information and swallowing it as fact. Find me all evidence of every country’s commitment to asylum seeking as well as ours, the total European numbers and why, and any evidence you must so clearly have as to lack of Immigration fact-checking for the ‘tales of woe’. Then show me the figures for the numbers who go on to claim ‘free’ everything and I’ll show you the far superior numbers of those who hold degrees and higher and go on to earn far more than you can ever dream about.
They don’t come thousands of miles largely on foot for a ‘better life’ they do it for the chance of A life. The world-wide asylum system was put in place not for one-off politicians but for the millions of persecuted people after WW2. It came in under the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. ‘Right to life free from persecution’ etc. The rules and quotas are in the 1951 Convention.
If you want to argue costs and funding and the discontent we all feel about rising daily living, after you finish reading the Declaration and Convention, start on the numerous publication on wealth inequality both here and worldwide and then have a look at who has profited the most from the poorer 99% of the population and why there might be a reason to keep doing so whilst simultaneously blaming your poverty on others.
Before jumping on the Bandwagon of the ‘Appalled’, Councillor Bacon needs to do some in-depth fact checking…
There have been NO formal complaints lodged with Police or ‘Authorities’, no Police investigations, no arrests.
The so-called ‘Head’ of the RNLI has been guilty of making dramatic soundbites.
The upper Management of the RNLI have completely been captured by Leftist Idealism with a accusations of ‘Thuggish’ behaviour.
Nothing ever seems to done about the big ‘Left’ and allegedly ‘Palestinian’ mass marches and verbal threats!
WRONG!
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/havant-man-charged-eastney-migrant-protest-9112756
Why don’t people check the veracity of their contributions before pressing “Post Comment”?
Is it because they unquestioningly believe the lies they’re told by the far-right agitators in our society?
Or is it a deliberate attempt to share dishonesty in the hope of changing the narrative?
The masked thugs who protested at Eastney were just that. Thugs. Nasty, small-minded, racist thugs.
Not counting the police investigation from the online abuse and threats the day after the RNLI helped land the craft, or the cyber attacks and the personal data leaked online more recently?
It’s neither Left nor idealism or even the RNLI that calls out intimidation, threats and vigilante activism as wrong, it’s plain old basic human decency. Something which many thugs and their supporters seem to lack these days.
Years ago, I took part in a row across the English Channel to raise money for the RNLI. To achieve this safely & successfully required decisions to be made. Firstly a passport or a 24 hour excursion document was required. Without these, you didn’t take part.
We trained, without we didn’t take part.
We had to organise a safety support vessel, to come to our aid if needed. Without such, we didn’t attempt the crossing.
Although our efforts were to raise money for the RNLI, at no point did we think of asking for their support, nor did they offer any.
The Skipper of the support vessel kept regular updates with Solent Coastguard & made sure our speed whilst crossing the shipping lanes was maintained, so not to cause obstruction to shipping. Never were we met half way or given a free ride at the heavy cost of a charity.
Having reached the other side, team members had the choice of travelling back on the support vessel, or board a ferry at their expense.
With Donations collected a cheque was presented to the RNLI for our efforts. Which they were truly grateful.
Unfortunately there isn’t the same amount of decision making during the regular channel crossings these days. The intentions of all involved are never to give, but to take. The Snowflakes which exist throughout the services are complicit with this. Years ago the RNLI was always there in the background when needed & has carried out some heroic rescues by very talented & brave personnel. There are crews of the Nowadays RNLI whom social media & bragging comes first & foremost. Yet another decision those involved chose to make. Like yourself Mr Bacon, who states there was a “Major migrant rescue”.
Try stating the facts.
It was a calm sea.
All persons were still onboard the dinghy, which was being shadowed by the French. Shipping had been made aware of the dinghy, by maritime shipping broadcasts. So therefore all involved decided to go & Taxi the ILLEGALS to the shores of this country. Abusing the vessels of the service people of this country have supported for years & years. Someone in your position should try to Understand some of that. Maybe then you may start to realise why people have been so annoyed.
Never been a rescue
It was a government taxi service
Just because your the so called leader Bacon doesn’t give you the right to think every body else are stupid and can’t think with our you
what you should realise is that the french authorities know these boats are in french waters and are illegally overcrowded but the french version of the RNLI do nothing about helping them safetly back to the nearest port! The RNLI and the British taxpayer are being taken for mugs by the French and the illegal immigrants!
I fully disagree with people posting inappropriate things, especially about RNLI staff who are sent to these jobs, they don’t get to pick and choose.
The people responsible for this are the government and the unelected PM Andy Burnham and those that were before him for failing to have the back bone to deal with the illegal immigrants crossing from France and the French for never wanting to stop them no matter how much taxpayer money they gave them.
There is no disinformation here these are boats full of illegals from countries our own government tell brits not to travel to as they are unsafe.
They have also travelled through multiple SAFE countries they could have “claimed asylum” in, but no they then put their own life in danger (didn’t get into difficulty at sea on a day out or fishing trip) no deliberately put themselves in danger to cross the channel to get to free load here because they won’t get the same in the EU.
So that is on our PM and every MP and Cllr who supports refusing to stop it and deport every person who has illegal under UK law entered our country and by doing so also committed the criminal act aiding and abetting a criminal under UK law.
Legal migration via application and temporary refugees by government agreement are a seperate thing and not to be mislead by any public appointed government body as the same thing as that would defiantly be classed as giving disinformation to the public.
The taxpayers and people of the UK have had enough of being bled dry, taken for fools and being labelled far right or racists so this government can try to blame others for this abomination of running our great country into the ground, so rightly or wrongly venting their frustration publicly is now the only thing they can do as the establishment is failing to listen or deal with the problem at hand.
We will all see come the next election which can’t come soon enough just how mighty the pen is when X marks the spot on the ballot paper to which this government can’t fix or change the law in their favour, well not yet anyway.
You know that the UK doesn’t have elected Prime Ministers, right? You do understand that we have a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, not a presidential system of government? You do understand that, don’t you?
Because if you’re struggling with that concept, I can understand why you also seem so blissfully ignorant of the 1951 Refugee Convention which is crystal clear that asylum can be sought in any country. There is no requirement to stop in the first “safe country”.
You’re probably then also unaware that having entered the UK unlawfully, people can still claim asylum and may not be penalised. They must be treated fairly and lawfully whilst their claim is investigated.
None of this is very difficult to understand. It just requires a little self-guided reading rather than believing without question the disinformation spread by foul far-right nationalists and their assorted moronic acolytes.
And neither you or anybody else gets to pick and choose what is written in international statute law about asylum, immigration or what country anyone is allowed to seek refuge in. (Little clue here….most other nations speak English. Not French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish….English. It’s taught even in the most basic African schools).
All those other countries also have asylum quotas, all, take far higher numbers than we do. IF they can integrate and speak the language many of them do. All countries eventually require a citizenship test. Family connections who already live in a host country add weight to an application, so if Hussain’s uncle came to England in the 1970s he will have support, both financially, physically and mentally. He also has a person to show him the ropes in a culture far different from what he left behind.
And yes, you’ve said it yourself…the countries they are fleeing from are unsafe. So why would he stay there?