Children of RNLI lifeboat volunteers have been bullied at school because of their parents' involvement in rescuing migrants in the English Channel.
asserted
Children → bully → Channel
Volunteers for a lifeboat station in Gosport have been subject to abuse following the arrivals of small boats, which led to lifeboats bringing illegal migrants ashore.
asserted
lifeboats → follow → migrants
The landings sparked protests in Gosport and Portsmouth.
asserted
landings → spark → Gosport
Allegations of bullying were raised at a Portsmouth City Council debate about recognising the RNLI with the Freedom of the City honour.
asserted
Allegations → raise → honour
A letter to the council said two crew members' children had been targeted at school because their fathers were involved with the charity.
asserted
fathers → say → charity
Volunteers said they had been confronted in public, while crew members' names were published online and suspicious vehicles were seen parked near the station.
asserted
vehicles → say → station
The volunteers were branded as 'traitors' and some had their details published online.
Another lifeboat station in Portsmouth was forced to close temporarily due to threats.
asserted
station → brand → threats
RNLI volunteers have been advised to stop wearing their badges in public to avoid confrontations with anti-migrant protesters.
asserted
volunteers → advise → protesters
RNLI voluneers have been subject to abuse for their part in bringing illegal migrants ashore.
asserted
voluneers → bring → migrants
Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who proposed the motion alongside Councillor Billy Ansell, told the meeting he was 'deeply concerned about the abuse, intimidation and threats' directed at the RNLI.
asserted
he → propose → RNLI
He said the council should 'express its unequivocal support' for the charity, which has spent 200 years saving lives at sea.
asserted
which → say → sea
Councillor Ansell said volunteers responded to emergencies without asking about a person's nationality, religion or politics.
asserted
volunteers → say → nationality
He added that disagreements about immigration and border controls did not justify hostility towards lifeboat crews.
asserted
disagreements → add → crews
Reform UK councillors sought to amend the motion to remove criticism of descriptions of the RNLI as a 'taxi service' for migrants.
asserted
councillors → seek → migrants
The amendment was defeated.
asserted
amendment → defeat → ?
The original motion calling for the RNLI to receive the Freedom of the City honour was passed by 25 votes to 11, with one abstention.
asserted
RNLI → call → abstention
The station's letter said the recognition would provide a 'huge moral boost' to volunteers, while also thanking those who had sent messages of support.
asserted
who → say → support
It comes after two RNLI all-weather lifeboats, deployed from the Isle of Wight, landed at Eastney Point on September 6, after picking up 120 migrants who were attempting to cross the Channel from France.
asserted
who → come → France
As reports of the boats landing spread, demonstrators flocked to the area to demonstrate against the arrival of the migrants.
asserted
demonstrators → spread → migrants
Multiple protesters have since been charged with violent disorder as a result of the late-night march, with several police officers treated for injuries at the scene.
asserted
officers → charge → scene
Police and demonstrators during an anti-migrant protest in Gosport
Poole Old Lifeboat Museum was also forced to close after several incidents of anti-migrant protesters verbally assaulting their volunteers.
asserted
protesters → force → volunteers
The Royal National Institute of Blind People was forced to issue a statement that they are 'not the lifeboat people' following threats.
asserted
they → force → threats
Chief executive Peter Sparkes criticised abusive posters who 'hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard' and said their 'action is wholly unacceptable'.
He added: 'Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel.
asserted
events → criticise → Channel
The RNLI helped more than 36,000 people across its lifeboat and lifeguard services last year, with crews launching more than 9,000 times to assist those in distress at sea.
asserted
crews → help → sea
RNLI lifeboat crews insist they have a duty to rescue anyone at sea, regardless of who they are.
asserted
they → insist → sea
The Aporia
