Independent British MP Rupert Lowe has announced his intention to donate to a charity rowing team whose members he believes may be “illegal migrants”.
Mr Lowe, who was elected for the Reform Party but is now an independent MP for Great Yarmouth, shared a picture on social media on Thursday evening showing a boat near wind turbines off the Norfolk coast.
The coastguard contacted the crew to confirm their identities and Mr Lowe pledged to donate £1,000 to the charity.
On Friday morning, the MP wrote on social media: “Good news. False alarm! Thank goodness the unknown vessel belonged to a rowing charity.”
“As a token of recognition for the team, I will be donating £1,000 to a charity to raise money for people with ALS.
“Keep rowing and beware of the real illegal immigrants!
“We have received a lot of urgent complaints from voters. I will not apologize for being vigilant for my constituents. This is a national problem.
“No mass deportations for charity rowers, but for illegal immigrants it is definitely necessary!”
Mr Lowe initially posted on social media on Thursday evening: “Lifeboats arriving in Great Yarmouth RIGHT NOW.
“The authorities have been notified and I am immediately in pursuit. If these are illegal immigrants, I will use all means available to me to deport them.”
However, the vessel pictured is actually an ocean rowing boat carrying a four-man crew from ROW4MND, who are attempting to row from Land's End to John o' Groats to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND).
Crew members Matthew Parker, Mike Bates, Aaron Kneebone and Liz Wardley said they were contacted by the Coast Guard asking if they could see an inflatable boat nearby.
Mr Bates, a former Royal Marine and UK record holder for the single-handed Atlantic crossing by boat, told the PA news agency it soon became apparent
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
