A charity rowing team, including a former Royal Marine, was stunned to learn they’d been reported to the coastguard as “illegal migrants” by a local MP while training off the Norfolk coast.
Rupert Lowe, elected as a Reform UK MP but now sitting as an Independent, posted a picture online on Thursday night showing their vessel near wind turbines off Great Yarmouth.
“Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW,” he wrote. “Authorities are alerted, and I am urgently chasing. If these are illegal migrants, I will be using every tool at my disposal to ensure these individuals are deported. Enough is enough. Britain needs mass deportations. NOW.”
The “dinghy” was, in fact, an ocean rowing boat crewed by ROW4MND, four athletes rowing from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise funds for motor neurone disease (MND).
The crew, Matthew Parker, Mike Bates, Aaron Kneebone, and Liz Wardley, have faced high winds, huge waves, Storm Floris, and now, being “shopped” to the coastguard by an MP.
Mike Bates, a former Royal Marine and British record-holder for rowing the Atlantic solo, said the situation quickly became surreal.
“I looked to my right and there were maybe a dozen people on the shore staring at us. Then the coastguard called to ask if we could see a dinghy nearby. Several hours later, the police wanted to send a lifeboat to check who we were.”
It was only when a friend forwarded Lowe’s post that the crew realised what had happened.
“We found it hilarious,” said Bates. “I’ve never been mistaken for a migrant before. The best comment was asking where the Royal Navy were when you needed them, the Royal Navy were on the boat! But it was almost vigilante-style, people following us down the beach.”
The team began their journey on 25 July, initially heading into the Irish Sea before bad weather forced them to change course. They restarted in the opposite direction, rowing along the English coast. Their challenge is the first of four epic expeditions over the next four years, aiming to raise £57 million for MND research.
So far, they’ve brought in over £107,000, and Bates joked the incident might even help.
“We certainly will if MPs keep talking about us. Maybe Rupert will give us a donation.”
On Friday, Lowe admitted it was a false alarm, pledged £1,000 to the cause, but refused to apologise, saying he was “being vigilant” for his constituents.
A spokesperson for ROW4MND wryly noted:
“It is said all publicity is good publicity, but we’d like to get on with the challenge rather than respond to Instagram posts. That said, we’d like to thank Rupert Lowe MP for raising the profile of our project immeasurably.”
