The RNLI has dismissed rumours that one of its lifeboats carried migrants to a Cornish port.
The denial follows numerous social media posts inaccurately claiming that the RNLI lifeboat 13-60 had travelled from Poole in Dorset to Newlyn with migrants onboard yesterday (September 7).
One Instagram post said: “After dropping off a load of migrants in Poole. They are now heading further along the coast and expected to drop some more migrants off in Newlyn, Cornwall. This is an invasion by the government all along the south coast.”
A marine tracker confirmed the lifeboat’s passage and showed that it arrived in Newlyn at around 5pm last night after leaving Poole at 8:45am.
However, the RNLI has clarified that the boat had made a planned stop in Newlyn while en route to Ireland.
A spokesperson for the RNLI told CornwallLive: “An RNLI all-weather lifeboat made a planned stop overnight at Newlyn, Cornwall, on the evening of Monday, September 7.
“The lifeboat is on passage to Baltimore, Ireland and continued its passage on Tuesday, September 8. Only RNLI personnel were onboard the boat.”
It comes after lifeboat crews were branded by a far-right group as 'traitors' for rescuing a boat carrying asylum seekers in the English Channel on Sunday (September 6), The Mirror reports.
The crews, who were based on the Isle of Wight, helped a 'mega dinghy' carrying around 120 people which was stranded in the Channel.
It came into UK waters from Cherbourg, near the ferry crossing for Portsmouth, rather than using the usual route from Calais into Dover, Kent.
They were saved by lifeboat rescuers who returned to find protestors shouting abuse and calling them "traitors" and "scum".
The RNLI defended its actions, saying it “would rescue those in danger without judgement or preference” as it has been doing for more than 200 years.
An RNLI spokesperson said: “On Sunday, September 6, several RNLI lifeboats were tasked by HM Coastguard to form part of the search and rescue response to a boat reported in the Channel, heading towards the Hampshire coast.
“Crews handed the casualties to relevant authorities on reaching shore. Due to the large number of members of the public on scene, some of whom had entered the water, several of the lifeboats stayed afloat for some time as a precaution.
“We are a voluntary lifesaving rescue service, tasked in the UK by HM Coastguard to assist anyone who is in trouble on the water. We will rescue those in danger without judgement or preference, as the RNLI has been doing for more than 200 years.
“Everyone at the RNLI remains focused on our core purpose of saving lives at sea.”
RNLI Denies Lifeboat Brought Migrants to Cornish Port