Story Highlight
– MP mistook charity rowers for illegal migrants.
– Rupert Lowe alerted authorities over the incident.
– Charity team raising money for MND, $1,000 donation.
– Crew found the situation “hilarious” and absurd.
– Rowers have raised over $100,000 for their cause.
Full Story
An independent MP has apologized after mistakenly identifying a charity rowing team as illegal migrants off the Norfolk coast. Rupert Lowe shared a photograph on X, formerly known as Twitter, depicting a boat near wind turbines, and commented that “dinghies [were] coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW.”
Subsequent inquiries by HM Coastguard confirmed that the vessel was actually carrying a group of charity rowers embarking on a mission from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Caithness. Following this clarification, Mr. Lowe announced his intention to donate $1,000 to the team’s fundraising efforts for Motor Neuron Disease (MND) research.
The MP’s initial post was made at approximately 20:25 BST, where he stated he had alerted authorities concerned about potential illegal migrants. He emphasized his commitment to ensuring the safety of his constituents. By Friday morning at 06:38, Mr. Lowe acknowledged that the situation was a “false alarm.” “We received a huge number of urgent complaints from constituents – I make no apologies for being vigilant for my constituents. It is a national crisis,” he said.
While no mass deportations were needed for the charity rowers, Mr. Lowe has been a vocal advocate for strict immigration measures, including mass deportations. Elected as a Member of Parliament for Reform UK last year, he was expelled from the party in March due to allegations involving threats against its chairman—a claim he has denied. The Crown Prosecution Service later confirmed that he would not face criminal charges.
The rowing crew, which includes Mike Bates, a record-holding solo Atlantic rower, found the entire incident amusing. Bates remarked, “I looked to my right and there were maybe a dozen individuals stood on the shoreline staring at us. I’ve not been mistaken for a migrant before.” He added that a comment jokingly questioning the absence of the Royal Navy was particularly memorable, noting, “I’m a former Royal Marine, so the Royal Navy were on the boat.”
Fellow crew member Matthew Parker recounted how the situation escalated, as they were attempting to seek shelter and wait for the tide to change. “You’ve got these people on the shoreline flashing torches at us,” he noted, bewildered by the attention. “We’ve got the coastguard asking us questions, a police car arrives on the beach with its lights on – how has this managed to get escalated this way? I just thought it was ridiculous.”
Having originally set off on 25 July, the team navigated northward into the Irish Sea before bad weather compelled them to pause at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire. After returning to Land’s End, they restarted their journey in the opposite direction. To date, they have raised over $100,000 for charity, with hopes of reaching $57 million, as Bates stated: “We’re rowing for hope, we’re rowing to find a cure, and hopefully we’ll raise $57m – we certainly will if MPs keep talking about us.”
