RNLI seeks security upgrade at Poole center after volunteer abuse
RNLI files plans for Poole support center
POOLE, England — The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has applied for planning permission to tighten security at its lifeboat support center in Poole after volunteers and staff were abused over the charity’s role in rescuing migrants in the English Channel.
The plans, submitted to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, call for a new external entrance lobby on the northeast corner of the building on West Quay Road. Under the proposal, three card-operated security gates would be installed beneath the main staircase to manage entry. Existing entrance doors would be changed to serve as emergency escape exits.
The RNLI said the alterations were needed after a number of security breaches at the building’s main entrance. In planning documents, the charity said unauthorized people had gained access to the Poole Lifeboat Support Centre by closely following staff through swipe-card-controlled doors.
Abuse followed Channel rescue
The application follows a difficult period for the 202-year-old rescue charity. Last month, the RNLI said staff and volunteers had faced “unacceptable” abuse after two lifeboats were involved in a Channel operation.
On Sept. 6, the vessels took 120 migrants who had been intercepted off the Isle of Wight to Eastney in Langstone Harbour. The rescue prompted a major anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth, with protesters also gathering in Poole, where the charity is based.
Some crew members involved in the operation were targeted online, with their photographs and names shared in social media posts accusing them of treason. The abuse led to the temporary closure of Poole Old Lifeboat Museum, which said there had been several incidents of “protesters verbally assaulting our volunteers.”
Chief executive condemns threats
RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes previously described the abuse as “wholly unacceptable in a civilized society.” He said the charity had faced “deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding” and condemned threats by “those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard.”
The planning proposal is open for public consultation until Oct. 14. If approved, it would add a visible layer of security to a site that normally focuses on saving lives at sea.
The dispute also reflects a wider challenge for rescue organizations in Britain. The RNLI’s mandate is to help anyone in distress at sea, but its work during small-boat crossings has become caught up in the country’s polarized immigration debate. For the charity, the new gates and lobby are both a practical response to safety concerns and a measure of how intense that debate has become.