Abuse aimed at RNLI volunteers should never be tolerated
The RNLI – Royal National Lifeboat Institution – is a charity like no other. Volunteers put themselves in danger to save countless lives over the whole year. A lot of these volunteers are skilled rescuers who do life saving work without any fuss. For an island nation like Britain, it would be foolish to take the RNLI for granted.
In recent months, we have seen something far worse. These very volunteers who should be seen as heroes have come under attack from cowardly masked thugs and anonymous social media accounts. All because they went about their business saving lives regardless of who was in trouble.
The charity regulator’s condemnation of this “thuggery and intimidation” is to be welcomed because the message from all quarters should be clear, that attacking volunteers at the RNLI will never be tolerated. Last month, the RNLI paused its services in Portsmouth in the wake of abuse of its volunteers following anti-migrant protests. The volunteers were targeted for helping migrants at sea, with footage posted on social media showing them described as “traitors”, after bringing a dinghy to safety in the Hampshire port city.
There is nothing wrong with arguing against illegal migration. In fact, this newspaper has often called for the government to get a grip on the migrant crisis. However, thuggish behaviour such as this does those legitimate concerns no good.
RNLI volunteers are not at fault for the influx of small boat crossings, political failings on both sides of the Channel are. No rescue operation should ever be made to decide whether or not someone is worthy of rescuing.