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Will be interesting to see how they're compared to environmental groups who did the same and who mainly showed their faces. Were anti terror laws used against them in the end? Weren't there calls by certain sections on the right to run them over?
Let's wait and see.
14
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:14 - Sep 10 with 796 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 08:59 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
Foreseeable crossings picked up mid-Channel, not genuine mayday rescues. What do you call that, if not a taxi service?
You can hold both both true.. the RNLI running a de facto taxi/ferry for a predictable route is a legitimate thing to question. Pointing that out isn't denying anyone's humanity.
The fact that the RNLI have had to defend themselves from the question ‘Why is the RNLI a taxi service for illegal migrants?’ on their own website is shameful in itself:
Another poster on this thread is bandying around a 1% statistic without any basis in fact, so here's one that is:
"The RNLI is a charity with one purpose: To save lives at sea. In 2025, volunteer lifeboat crew members like Dan launched to the rescue 9,058 times across the UK and Ireland. Just 109 (1.2%) of these launches were to small boats in the Channel."
The vast majority of the pickups at sea from small boat crossings are handled by the UK Border Force, not the RNLI; if I rang a taxi firm and they only sent me a cab 1 out of every 100 times I called them, I'd be pretty p1ssed off.
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 08:45 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
Here we go again with the R word. You don't have to be racist, (or thick)..that's a nice double whammy today, to have concerns about:
a) RNLI acting as a taxi service for continuous, planned arrivals. This isn't a medical or sea emergency under SOLAS, it's foreseeable, not a mayday.
b) Unvetted people arriving continuously, that's a fair thing to want answers on.
The Pakistan cricket team thing is a terrible look, can't defend it. Do consider though that many people really have had enough of a) & b) and a coach load of people turning up together is going to raise questions. That's human nature, not automatically hate or stupidity.
If you’re throwing out the RNLI are a taxi service line, they to be honest you’re just one of them and you can fck right off actually.
If that’s crossing the banhammer line then fine, but what you’re saying is unacceptable.
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:03 - Sep 10 by Swailsey
The very way you phrase it makes it seem like the RNLI aren’t doing anything other than saving people’s lives. The hate they are getting and the ignorance in which people are attributing accountability to them (which you are doing, deliberately or not) is appalling.
It’s incredibly disrespectful to what they do, the danger they put themselves in, not to mention the trauma those in the boats are experiencing.
If there are conversations to be had about “illegal immigration”, they should be carried out with respect, without assumptions and from a practical standpoint. Lazy soundbites and harassment of services and struggling humans will just set us back further.
It’s so interesting to me that those of a certain political persuasion are so incensed by the 1% of RNLI rescues, and harass/protest because of the perceived impact it is having on our economy, but fail to direct the same level of anger towards governments which have caused material, tangible damage to us over the past 20 years. Again, self-reflection is required.
[Post edited 10 Sep 9:09]
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
-12
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:21 - Sep 10 with 751 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:14 - Sep 10 by BlueBoots
The fact that the RNLI have had to defend themselves from the question ‘Why is the RNLI a taxi service for illegal migrants?’ on their own website is shameful in itself:
Another poster on this thread is bandying around a 1% statistic without any basis in fact, so here's one that is:
"The RNLI is a charity with one purpose: To save lives at sea. In 2025, volunteer lifeboat crew members like Dan launched to the rescue 9,058 times across the UK and Ireland. Just 109 (1.2%) of these launches were to small boats in the Channel."
The vast majority of the pickups at sea from small boat crossings are handled by the UK Border Force, not the RNLI; if I rang a taxi firm and they only sent me a cab 1 out of every 100 times I called them, I'd be pretty p1ssed off.
" if I rang a taxi firm and they only sent me a cab 1 out of every 100 times I called them, I'd be pretty p1ssed off."
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:20 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
You’re still putting blame on the RNLI. Why should they have to change their approach to savings lives, because of the abuse they are getting from racists? I’m not engaging with you anymore - it’s pointless.
Who said: "Colin Healy made Cesc Fabregas look like Colin Healy"? | We miss you TLA
16
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:25 - Sep 10 with 716 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:20 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
FFS, I barely know where to start. "pick up planned trips"? Pretty much every single incident they attend is a planned trip.
The one time I was in a situation where if it got much worse we'd have needed the RNLI was a sodding planned trip, just that the plan didn't quite work out.
Over the summer I saw what I assume was the Great Yarmouth lifeboat towing a yacht off the Norfolk coast. I imagine that yacht had embarked on a 'planned trip' only for it to go a bit awry resulting in it needing help.
Their policies are pretty clear and can be summarised as "If you're in trouble at sea, we'll do our best to help get you out of trouble".
11
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:28 - Sep 10 with 680 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:20 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
"They break our legs and tell us to be grateful when they offer us crutches."
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 08:45 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
Here we go again with the R word. You don't have to be racist, (or thick)..that's a nice double whammy today, to have concerns about:
a) RNLI acting as a taxi service for continuous, planned arrivals. This isn't a medical or sea emergency under SOLAS, it's foreseeable, not a mayday.
b) Unvetted people arriving continuously, that's a fair thing to want answers on.
The Pakistan cricket team thing is a terrible look, can't defend it. Do consider though that many people really have had enough of a) & b) and a coach load of people turning up together is going to raise questions. That's human nature, not automatically hate or stupidity.
Assuming a coach load of people are up to no good solely down to the colour of their skin is the definition of racism. It's the perfect blend of racism and stupidity.
9
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:31 - Sep 10 with 650 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:20 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
You'd be happy for British people at sea to drown because of a fall in donations to the RNLI?
I certainly assume you won't be donating to help save lives.
[Post edited 10 Sep 9:33]
4
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:32 - Sep 10 with 636 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 08:45 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
Here we go again with the R word. You don't have to be racist, (or thick)..that's a nice double whammy today, to have concerns about:
a) RNLI acting as a taxi service for continuous, planned arrivals. This isn't a medical or sea emergency under SOLAS, it's foreseeable, not a mayday.
b) Unvetted people arriving continuously, that's a fair thing to want answers on.
The Pakistan cricket team thing is a terrible look, can't defend it. Do consider though that many people really have had enough of a) & b) and a coach load of people turning up together is going to raise questions. That's human nature, not automatically hate or stupidity.
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:25 - Sep 10 by soupytwist
FFS, I barely know where to start. "pick up planned trips"? Pretty much every single incident they attend is a planned trip.
The one time I was in a situation where if it got much worse we'd have needed the RNLI was a sodding planned trip, just that the plan didn't quite work out.
Over the summer I saw what I assume was the Great Yarmouth lifeboat towing a yacht off the Norfolk coast. I imagine that yacht had embarked on a 'planned trip' only for it to go a bit awry resulting in it needing help.
Their policies are pretty clear and can be summarised as "If you're in trouble at sea, we'll do our best to help get you out of trouble".
Different kind of 'planned' though, isn't it. The yacht planned to go/ sail somewhere safely and that went wrong,that's exactly what RNLI's for.
These Channel crossing aren't that are they. The entire point from departure is illegal entry into a country.
-9
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:36 - Sep 10 with 602 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 08:56 - Sep 10 by DJR
I agree it's not right to bandy about the word racist but it is very difficult to argue that the far right male protesters in Dover and Portsmouth are not racist. And that was all that I think that Swansea Blue was saying.
But maybe you wouldn't regard Tommy Robinson or his former bodyguard Danny Thommo as racist.
If you're racist, no doubt racism played a part here, it doesn't stop your right to protest within the law does it? I'm not fan of the Reform leadership, but this would be a better line for them to take.
Them being racist (probably true) is a subjective value judgement, but their freedom of speech is fundamental. As is our right to call them out on it.
-3
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:38 - Sep 10 with 588 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:34 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
Different kind of 'planned' though, isn't it. The yacht planned to go/ sail somewhere safely and that went wrong,that's exactly what RNLI's for.
These Channel crossing aren't that are they. The entire point from departure is illegal entry into a country.
I expect that most small boat crossings go on the basis that they're hoping to arrive safely. That's why the numbers decline in bad weather.
I imagine the next step for this, if the RNLI's constitution allows it, is an attempted takeover of the governance structure as has been tried several times with the National Trust.
1
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:45 - Sep 10 with 535 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:38 - Sep 10 by Swansea_Blue
Volunteers risking their own safety to indiscriminately save lives at sea.
To be clear, I'm not anti-RNLI, quite the opposite, volunteers risking their own safety deserves respect, it certianly gets mine. My point is whether a system that guarantees rescue as part of a foreseeable, repeated dangerous route creates the wrong incentive and puts more people in danger in the first place. That is all.
-7
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:45 - Sep 10 with 534 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:20 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
The abuse is awful. The RNLI personnel should not receive any abuse.
The RNLI needs to have a think about their policies. Make them clear and broadcast those, whatever they are. If they are going to continue to pick up planned trips then so be it, people then have a choice if they choose to support/ donate.
They've literally done this by being clear about how many boat launches are to those in the channel
It is leading wording like "taxi service" that cuts right through the facts and invents an issue that isn't there
[Post edited 10 Sep 9:45]
6
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:45 - Sep 10 with 531 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:42 - Sep 10 by soupytwist
I expect that most small boat crossings go on the basis that they're hoping to arrive safely. That's why the numbers decline in bad weather.
I imagine the next step for this, if the RNLI's constitution allows it, is an attempted takeover of the governance structure as has been tried several times with the National Trust.
Fair point on bad weather numbers, that does suggest people do hope to make the full crossing, so maybe 'hoping to arrive safely' is fairer than 'planned pick-up'. In my opinion it does still present the question of, If the crossing is known to be dangerous (and illegal), does the guarantee of rescue reduce the perceived risk enough to encourage people to try it who otherwise wouldn't?
As for a National Trust-style takeover. I have no idea, your thoughts and knowledge will be far greater than mine on this. I've said nothing about changing who governs the RNLI though.
-3
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:54 - Sep 10 with 481 views
These balaclava wearing chaps in Dover on 09:45 - Sep 10 by TownieRob
To be clear, I'm not anti-RNLI, quite the opposite, volunteers risking their own safety deserves respect, it certianly gets mine. My point is whether a system that guarantees rescue as part of a foreseeable, repeated dangerous route creates the wrong incentive and puts more people in danger in the first place. That is all.
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