Rupert Lowe, the independent Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth, has issued an apology after mistakenly identifying a charity rowing boat as a vessel carrying illegal migrants and alerting authorities on August 7, 2025.
The vessel in question was crewed by a group of British men undertaking a 1,000-mile rowing challenge to raise funds for motor neurone disease (MND) research. The crew was intercepted after Lowe’s report, but it was quickly confirmed that they were not migrants attempting to enter the UK.
In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Lowe acknowledged the error, calling it a “false alarm” and pledging £1,000 to the team’s charity in recognition of their efforts.
“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,” Lowe wrote.
While apologising for the mix-up, the MP defended his decision to report the sighting, citing a surge of complaints from constituents about illegal migration.
“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 charity rowers have since confirmed they will continue their journey, with donations and public attention to their cause boosted by the unexpected incident.
Credit: @RupertLowe10 via X
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