An RNLI volunteer in Portsmouth, named only as Neil, has spoken out after being wrongly accused online of helping migrants land ashore during anti-migrant protests on Sunday, describing the false claims as damaging and denying he is a "traitor". Footage of him and fellow crew members was shared widely and misrepresented, sparking abuse and calls for a boycott, even though the RNLI says the lifeboat's actual role was to illuminate the beach and protect protesters who had entered the water. The episode reflects rising tensions around the charity's Channel rescue operations amid a wider wave of anti-immigration protests along the south coast.

The false posts, which were viewed at least two million times and sometimes named the wrong crew members, prompted threats against Neil and his family, including suggestions he be refused service in pubs; at least one post was later removed by X for breaching its rules. The backlash followed the rescue of around 140 migrants by two RNLI lifeboats, who were refused permission to land at Southampton or Portsmouth Harbour and were instead brought ashore at Eastney, where roughly 500 protesters had gathered. Separately, about 60 people demonstrated outside the RNLI's Poole headquarters, with the charity tightening security and closing public facilities; protesters, including groups such as Poole Patriots and Hampshire Resistance, said they held no grudge against individual volunteers but accused RNLI management of facilitating illegal migration.