Ex-Reform member Rupert Lowe has pledged £1,000 to a fundraiser after he mistook a charity rowing team for illegal migrants.
The now-independent MP for Great Yarmouth had posted a picture on social media on Thursday night showing a boat near some wind turbines off the Norfolk coast.
“Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW,” he wrote on X.
“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.”
But the vessel pictured was in fact an ocean rowing boat crewed by ROW4MND, a team of four who are attempting to row from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND).
The crew – Matthew Parker, Mike Bates, Aaron Kneebone and Liz Wardley – said they had been contacted by the Coastguard and asked if they could see a dinghy nearby, but it soon became clear the Coastguard was asking about his own boat.
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.”
After realising his mistake, Mr Lowe pledged £1,000 to the team’s fundraiser, but said he will not apologise for “being vigilant”.
“Good news. False alarm!” he posted on X.
“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!”
After the Coastguard checked their identities, 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 journey 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 £57 million for MND research.
So far, they have raised £107,515 for the charity.
Mr Bates said: “We’re rowing for hope, we’re rowing to find a cure, and hopefully we’ll raise £57 million – we certainly will if MPs keep talking about us. Maybe Rupert will give us a donation.”
