When the RNLI saved my life, no one asked to see my passport

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A man and a child are disembarked from a British border force vessel in Dover (AP)

It is a tragedy that the RNLI and its volunteer crews have been unjustly targeted by a failed politician-turned-pundit and some unsavoury elements of the press, in a xenophobic campaign which seeks to damage the organisation’s reputation (and income).

As an occasional street collector for this selfless and often heroic body of men and women, I would like to point out there are no less than 431 lifeboats active for the RNLI, and whatever one’s views about specific rescues in the English Channel, these represent a tiny fraction of the overall activity.

The generosity of the British people, based in part on a deep understanding of our shared maritime history, but also in admiration at seeing quite ordinary people stepping forward and doing extraordinary things as RNLI crew around our coastline, is something we should be genuinely proud of.