MP Rupert Lowe apologises after mistaking charity rowing crew for illegal migrants
The Independent MP, who won the Great Yarmouth seat for Reform UK before being ousted from the party earlier this year, claimed yesterday that 'dinghies' were heading towards the Norfolk coast.
The former Southampton FC chairman, who has more than 400,000 followers on X, said he had alerted the authorities and was 'urgently chasing', whilst sharing an image of a boat near wind turbines off the coast.
But he was forced to row back on his comments when it emerged the boat in question belonged to ROW4MND – a team of four charity rowers making their way from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for motor neurone disease research.
Mr Lowe later admitted it had been a 'false alarm' and pledged to donate £1,000 to the group's cause.
Posting on Instagram, the crew said they were 'disappointed' by the MP's post, but added: 'We forgive you.'
Last night, Mr Lowe posted on X: 'Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW.
'Authorities alerted, and I am urgently chasing. If these are illegal migrants, I will be using every tool at my disposal to ensure these individuals are deported.
'Enough is enough. Britain needs mass deportations. NOW.'
The crew, made up of Matthew Parker, Mike Bates, Aaron Kneebone and Liz Wardley, said they had been contacted by the Coastguard and asked whether they could see a dinghy nearby, only to realise they had been mistaken for one themselves.
Mr Bates, a former Royal Marine and British record holder for rowing across the Atlantic solo, said soon became clear the Coastguard was asking about his own boat.
'I looked to my right and there was maybe a dozen individuals stood on the shoreline staring at us,' he said.
After satisfying the Coastguard that their boat was not carrying migrants, they continued, but several hours later were contacted again by the Coastguard because the police had 'asked if they could send a lifeboat out to check who we were'.
Eventually, a friend forwarded Mr Lowe's post, which Mr Bates said provided 'a moment of light relief'.
He said: 'We found it hilarious. I've not been mistaken for a migrant before.
'The best comment was the one asking where the Royal Navy were when you need them. I'm a former Royal Marine, so the Royal Navy were on the boat.'
He added: 'But it was almost like a vigilante-style, people following us down the beach.
'They hadn't twigged that we were parallel to the shore for hours and not trying to land.'
The quartet set off from Land's End on July 25 and initially headed north into the Irish Sea before bad weather forced them to stop at Milford Haven in Wales.
They then decided to return to Land's End and start again, this time heading in the other direction, which Mr Bates said had been 'about us showing resolve and resilience and hope'.
The group wrote on their Instagram page: 'Thankfully, the police and coastguard consist of predominantly adult land mammals, complete with working brain cells, and so immediately realised the lunacy of illegal migrants choosing to invade the country using a £75,000 cutting edge ocean rowing boat.
'@rupertlowe10 - if you're reading this. We're disappointed in your conduct, we're disappointed that you wasted so much of the police and coastguard's time, but we forgive you.
'Pop an appropriate donation in at the link in our bio, then round up your army of disciples, ask them to put their pitchforks back in the Middle Ages for a few moments, and let's redirect their obvious energies to raising £57 million in a bid to find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.'
The post ends with the hashtag #sillysausage.
This morning, Mr Lowe had to clear the record, writing: 'Good news. False alarm! The unknown vessel was charity rowers, thank goodness.
'As a well done to the crew, I'll donate £1,000 to their charity - raising money for MND.
'Keep going, and watch out for any real illegal migrants! We received a huge number of urgent complaints from constituents - I make no apologies over being vigilant for my constituents. It is a national crisis.
'No mass deportations for the charity rowers, but we definitely need it for the illegal migrants!'
The journey the group are doing is the first of four challenges over four years, with the group aiming to row from John O'Groats to Land's End next year, from California to Hawaii in 2027 and New York to London in 2028, with a target of raising £57million for MND research.
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