Dash to save 209 migrants adrift in Med on Banksy’s listing rescue ship
A RESCUE boat funded by street artist Banksy and carrying hundreds of migrants was last night in danger of capsizing in the Mediterranean.
In a series of mayday alerts, the MV Louise Michel, which first ran into trouble on Friday, said it couldn’t move because of an overcrowded deck. Italian coastguards yesterday reached the vessel – lying in waters between Malta and the island of Lampedusa – but were only able to rescue 49 of the most vulnerable passengers, among them 13 children.
Now, of the 209, 160 migrants remain on board with ten crew.
Complaining of dehydration, those who remained on board were praying that another rescue boat despatched from the Sicilian port of Augusta 167 miles away would reach them in time.
But the Louise Michel last night remained dangerously overloaded and was said to be ‘ losing its balance’. The 100ft former French navy vessel, named after a female anarchist, has a maximum capacity of 120.
‘We repeat, #LouiseMichel is unable to safely move and nobody is coming to our aid,’ said a tweet sent from the vessel. ‘ The people rescued have experienced extreme trauma, it’s time for them to be brought to a #PlaceOfSafety. We need immediate assistance.’
Migration activists criticised Banksy for launching a rescue ship in the Mediterranean, saying it would only encourage people smugglers to put more migrants on small boats and send t hem t owards
Europe. The boat features some of Banksy’s trademark work, including a girl in a life vest holding a heart-shaped safety buoy.
So far this year, 550 migrants have died trying to cross the 300mile stretch between Libya and the coasts of Italy and Malta.
The Louise Michel’s passengers were mainly African men believed to have set off from the Libyan coast in flimsy dinghies – but also include women and children. One of the dinghies carrying the migrants also had a dead body, which was taken on board and then placed on a life raft, covered by a white sheet. The life raft was then attached to the Louise Michel and dragged along.
Last night, Lea Reisner, the head of operations for Louise Michel, said: ‘The people have sat in a mix of salt water and fuel for days. It is night and European states are not doing their f****** job. They deny responsibility while we are trying to keep everyone alive.’ In a tweet accompanying a video of t he migrants on the vessel, the operators yesterday said: ‘They are survivors you are turning your back on EU. After escaping untold horror and inhumanity they need a place of safety.’
But Alp Mehmet, chairman of campaign group Migration Watch, said: ‘Although Banksy may think what he is doing is helping, his actions are only serving to encourage this evil trade of migrant trafficking. These people only care about making money and profit from others’ misery. By launching this search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, traffickers will be able to convince more migrants to attempt the perilous crossing.’
On Wednesday, 45 people – including five children – died when the engine on their boat exploded off the coast of Libya. Official data shows t hat more t han 19,500 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean from Africa to either Italy or Malta this year.
Although Banksy has not said how much he has paid towards the vessel, the Louise Michel is believed to have cost £860,000. Last night, the United Nations also weighed into the furore by saying it was concerned about the lack of dedicated EU-led search and rescue efforts.
In a statement, the UN High Commission for Refugees said: ‘The humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be penalised or stigmatised, especially in the absence of dedicated state-led efforts.’
The Louise Michel set off in secrecy on August 18 from the Spanish port of Burriana, near Valencia. Banksy remained silent about the crisis in the Med last night, but earlier issued a video on his Instagram page, where he told his 10 million followers: ‘Like most people who make it in the art world, I bought a yacht to cruise the Med. It’s a French navy vessel we converted into a lifeboat, because EU authorities deliberately ignore distress calls from non-Europeans.’
Banksy, who hides his real identity, is believed to have asked a controversial German sea pilot and human rights activist called Pia Klemp for help. Her company SeaWatch has provided the all-vegan ten-man crew for the vessel, which sailed under the German flag.
Sea- Watch rescued more than 1,000 migrants in the Med last year, which has angered the Italian Government. Italian authorities have charged Ms Klemp in absentia with aiding illegal immigration.
‘After escaping untold horror they need safety’
its politically correct agenda, culminating in public outrage over its decision last week to perform Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia without their patriotic lyrics at the Last Night Of The Proms.
A poll published yesterday found that 59 per cent of people believe that the BBC decision was wrong, and two-thirds of voters wanted the licence fee scrapped.
Pressure on the BBC will further increase with the development of a second rival news channel from Rupert Murdoch’s News UK company, likely to be streamed online in a similar way to Netflix.
Sir Robbie’s channel will use standard digital platforms such as Freeview, and has already been given a licence by broadcasting regulator Ofcom.
The rival projects are likely to ensure a turbulent start to the tenure of the BBC’s new directorgeneral Tim Davie, who takes up his position on Tuesday.
On Friday, his predecessor, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, insisted the BBC was not a ‘woke corporation’.
He said the lyrics had been dropped from the patriotic songs at Last Night Of The Proms because it would not be possible to do them justice without an audience at the Royal Albert Hall. Lord Hall added that he and Mr Davie had jointly approved the move to play orchestral versions, which he insisted was ‘the right creative decision’.
Sir Robbie’s venture comes amid growing tensions between No 10 and the BBC, with Downing Street saying the Corporation speaks only to a ‘pro-Remain metropolitan bubble’ and Boris Johnson accusing the BBC of ‘cringing embarrassment about our history’.
The Government periodically boycotts flag ship news programmes such as Radio 4’s Today, while Downing Street is also considering accelerating its plans to decriminalise non-payment of the £157.50-a-year licence fee
Last night a source close to GB News said: ‘The channel will be a truly impartial source of news, unlike the woke, wet BBC. It will deliver the facts, not opinion dressed up as news. Everyone who works for GB News will have total commitment to quality journalism, to factual reporting and to impartiality.’
Broadcasters including Andrew Neil – whose show was axed by the BBC last month – and Julia Hartley-Brewer are understood to have been approached about working for both channels.
A TV insider said: ‘Andrew is due to resume talks with the BBC next week. They need to realise he is not short of options. He is in talks with other broadcasters including GB
News and News UK. Andrew would prefer to stay with the BBC. But the BBC needs to come up with the right offer and the right schedule slot. It is all about respect. I don’t think it’s a surprise that he feels that he’s being treated with disrespect.’
David Rhodes, a former executive for Murdoch’s US-based Fox News, is running the News UK project from its London base, under the auspices of chief executive Rebekah Brooks. Sources close to the project are at pains to deny that it is intended to be a British version of the right-wing Fox News, instead likening it a ‘TV version of TalkRadio, TalkSport and Times Radio’ – all of which are already part of the News UK stable.
Sources close to GB News are also keen to distance themselves from Fox News and from claims that Nigel Farage would be involved.
Sir Robbie, 56, who is understood to have helped raise ‘tens of millions of pounds’ for his new venture, believes that anger over the BBC has created a gap in the market for ‘quality journalism’. Earlier this month, Sir Robbie, whose brother Nick is a schools Minister, criticised BBC Newsnight’s policy editor Lewis Goodall for writing an article for the New Statesman headlined: ‘Failed. How the Government’s ineptitude created a lost generation’. Sir Robbie said: ‘ Is there anyone more damaging to the BBC’s reputation for impartiality than Lewis Goodall?’
GB News will be run by All Perspectives, linked to US billionaire John Malone, chairman of Virgin Media owner Liberty Global. Andrew Cole, who is on the board of Liberty Global and is one of the co- founders of GB News, has described the BBC as ‘possibly the most biased propaganda machine in the world’. Sir Robbie and News UK both declined to comment.