Lifeboat sent to rescue migrants obstructed
RNLI crew abused and vessel forced to reverse after launch met by blockade
An RNLI lifeboat faced a blockade by protesters, allegedly including fishermen, angry about the rescue of migrants from the Channel. The group lined up in front of the boat on Hastings beach, shouting abuse, as the lifeboat was launched. RNLI crew members managed to direct the lifeboat into the water. The incident took place on Nov 20, just days before 27 people, including a pregnant woman, died when their dinghy sank seven miles off Calais.
AN RNLI lifeboat faced a blockade by protesters, allegedly including fishermen, angry about the rescue of migrants from the Channel.
Witnesses claimed the group lined up in front of the boat on Hastings beach, shouting abuse at the crew, as the lifeboat was launched.
RNLI crew members managed to avoid the attempted blockade and direct the lifeboat into the water.
The incident took place on Nov 20, just days before 27 people, including a pregnant woman, died when their dinghy sank seven miles off Calais in the biggest loss of life since the start of the crisis.
A second boat organised by the same smugglers was forced to return to shore after suffering engine failure on the same night.
Richard Tice, the leader of Reform UK and the party’s candidate for tomorrow’s Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election, said illegal migration had become a major issue for voters during the campaign.
“People have been saying, before and afterwards, that it’s got to stop,” he said.
A local resident said those taking part in the protest shouted: “Don’t bring any more of those home, we’re full up, that’s why we stopped our donations.”
The witness, who gave the name Zoe, said she had been walking with her boyfriend near the Old Town beach.
Zoe told LBC Radio: “We heard the station opening. As the crew pulled the boat out and were going to the water, a group stood in the line of the boat to block it.
“You could hear the hatred in their voices. It shook me to the core and we thought of it yesterday night when we saw the news that people had passed away again.”
Nick Limpkin, from nearby Battle, said that he saw local fishermen join the protest, with one emptying his fish waste in the path of the lifeboat and “hassling the crew trying to launch”. Fishermen denied attempting to stop the launch, claiming there had simply been an argument over one of their number getting in the way.
One said: “The fishing boat didn’t stop the RNLI from going out. He was in the way discarding some undersized fish back into the sea.
“The lifeboat had to reverse up and go out somewhere else, so the RNLI guy got a bit upset.”
The RNLI said the Hastings lifeboat had been responding to a call for a rescue operation overseen by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The incident was investigated by Sussex police. No arrests were made.
Mark Dowie, chief executive of the RNLI, has said that it has a moral and legal duty to rescue migrants in danger at sea.
The RNLI said: “There are instances where our crew at Hastings have had negative comments made to them about their rescues of those who have crossed the Channel. Hastings RNLI receives overwhelming support from the local community.”
Several hours after the migrant boat sank off Calais killing 27 another inflatable containing around 30 from Somalia, Kurdistan and Eritrea attempted to leave from a different Calais beach.
Two Somali men said they were told by Kurdish people smugglers that the first boat had made it to England, only discovering days later that their countrymen had perished along with two dozen others. The men said they had paid 2,000 euros because they could carry and crew the boat, while women were charged 2,500 euros.