How Nigel Farage is doubling-down on one of the worst things he has ever done – Ian Johnston

The RNLI is facing a sustained campaign of abuse and intimidation over small boats crossings, yet Nigel Farage continues to slur the charity as a ‘taxi service for illegal migrants’

Published 21st Oct 2026, 06:00 BST

If you’ve never really been around boats or been caught in a riptide, the extraordinary power of a weight of water on the move can be hard to comprehend.

My own experience is based largely on rowing in my younger days. On one occasion, I was in a fairly inexperienced boat heading up the River Dee in Aberdeen. However, at a narrow point beneath a bridge, the current became so strong that all we could do was hold our position.

If the rush of water caught the bow or we became exhausted, we would be swept away, so there was nothing for it but to give our all, and hope we were strong enough...

This and other experiences mean that, whenever I see boats in trouble, I sympathise. Sometimes, no matter how skilled you are, the forces of nature will do what they will.

The very definition of a British institution

I was reminded of this while watching videos of people being rescued from the fishing boat Genesis after it hit rocks near Orkney’s Old Man of Hoy. Fortunately, all 17 lives were saved, thanks to a considerable operation involving the Coastguard, a rescue boat from Northlink ferry Hamnavoe, an RAF patrol aircraft, Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service, and, of course, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The latter is well named. The RNLI is the very definition of a British institution. It is a vital emergency service which is, nonetheless, a charity that relies on public donations to save the lives of “those in peril on the sea”, to quote the hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save.

However, an increasingly aggressive and hostile campaign has lately been waged against this wonderful charity and its dedicated, selfless and courageous volunteers. The first time I heard anyone seriously attack the work of the RNLI was when, some years ago, Nigel Farage accused it of operating a “taxi service” for migrants.

I was shocked at the time, but thought it would backfire. Whatever people thought about migrants, surely few would blame the RNLI. A non-political charity whose only aim is to save lives could hardly be held responsible for the political situation that has resulted in migrants crossing the English Channel.

‘Heightened threat from far-right agitators’

I was wrong. Amid rising tensions about small boats, RNLI volunteers have been accused of being “traitors”, and faced violence, abuse, threats, disinformation and ‘doxing’ campaigns in which personal information is spread online in order to try to intimidate them. In some cases, that information may have been acquired by criminal means. The Telegraph newspaper reported that RNLI members have been “warned that their data might have been stolen by hackers amid a heightened threat from far-right agitators”.

In a statement last month, RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel.

“Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse. The RNLI’s people represent the very best in our society, they selflessly give up their time to keep others safe. Yet they and their families are being threatened by those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard.”

Things got so bad that Portsmouth RNLI station was temporarily closed. In such circumstances, a responsible politician, even one committed to ‘stopping the boats’, would surely have sought to move the spotlight away from the RNLI – given all the lives they save – and take the pressure off.

Farage doubles down

Yet, not long after Sparkes’ statement, Farage was at it again. Posting of a video of migrants being brought ashore by an RNLI boat on social media, he wrote: “Mark my words. This will never happen again under a Reform government. The RNLI will not be a taxi service for illegal migrants. Instead, the Royal Navy will intercept every migrant boat and take the illegals back to France.”

Few people have changed Britain quite so much as Farage. Once he was pretty much a voice in the wilderness, with former Conservative leader David Cameron able to describe his small band of followers as “fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists, mostly” in 2006.

In the 20 years since, Farage has been the driving force behind Brexit and has turned Reform UK into an existential threat to the Tories. The EU referendum was largely a contest between Leavers who prioritised controlling immigration and Remainers who thought the economy was more important. Today, that same split dominates UK politics with immigration and the economy the two biggest issues.

But, of all the things Farage has done, I’d argue his unwarranted attacks on the RNLI have been among the worst, and possibly the worst of all.

The tides of public opinion

Brexit has caused huge economic harm and anti-immigration politics have stirred up racism, but the damage to the moral fabric of the nation caused by castigating volunteers who put their lives at risk to save others may end up being even more significant.

There’s a viciousness to it that could produce a profound cultural shift. And when the tides of public opinion turn, they can become as powerful as any natural phenomenon and difficult for an individual to resist.

On that day nearly 40 years ago beneath the bridge, I’d just started to contemplate what would happen if we weren’t able to move forward, when we began to pull through, and were able to take refuge in calmer waters near the southern bank.

If we are to pull through this current social turmoil, we must recognise the inherently moral nature of a charity like the RNLI and the shocking immorality of those who disparage it. Otherwise, fundamental values, perhaps even as basic as the sanctity of life, could be swept away.