People around the country, including politicians, have come to the defence of the RNLI today following criticism from some newspapers and Nigel Farage.
The charity, which is responsible for rescuing those in trouble at sea, spoke out after the former UKIP leader described them as "a taxi service for illegal immigration".
Politicians across the political spectrum jumped the defend the RNLI, with Conservative minister Dominic Raab praising their "incredible" work during an interview with LBC.
Meanwhile, Labour MP David Lammy urged people to donate to the charity if they believed "all lives deserve to be saved".
Here's everything you need to know about the charity, and why it has hit the headlines.
What is the RNLI?
The RNLI stands for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is responsible for saving lives at sea.
Teams of volunteers rescue anyone in trouble in the water, including migrants travelling across the water often in overcrowded and unsuitable boats.
After receiving criticism from the right wing ex-politician, the charity's CEO Mark Dowie spoke of his immense pride in the work of the RNLI.
"I could not be prouder of our amazing volunteer lifeboat crews, who launch to the aid of anyone who is in trouble in or around the water and needs our help.
"We do not judge those we rescue – where we believe there is a risk to life at sea, we will always launch in response to a call from HM Coastguard.
"We want to be absolutely clear that we are incredibly proud of the work our volunteer lifeboat crews do to rescue vulnerable people in distress."
Who else has spoken out in support of the RNLI?
Trending on Twitter on Thursday morning, numerous people have spoken out in support of the charity including many famous faces.
Labour MP David Lammy said: "If you believe that all lives deserve to be saved, today is a good day to donate to the RNLI."
If you believe that all lives deserve to be saved, today is a good day to donate to the @RNLI.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 29, 2021
Please share.https://t.co/e1unxUYCbu
Journalist Neil Mackay said: "Any nation which finds itself debating whether lifeboats should save people at sea is in truth engaged in its own moral death."
Any nation which finds itself debating whether lifeboats should save people at sea is in truth engaged in its own moral death.
— NeilMackay (@NeilMackay) July 29, 2021
Donate to the RNLI
Meanwhile millionaire Deborah Meaden shared a video from the RNLI, saying: "And we thank you".
And we thank you 🙏🙏🙏🙏@RNLI https://t.co/XivZx2yH56
— Deborah Meaden 💙 (@DeborahMeaden) July 29, 2021
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel