An RNLI volunteer in Portsmouth who was subjected to online abuse says he is not a 'traitor' after being wrongly accused of helping migrants arriving by small boats.
The volunteer, Neil, and other RNLI crew members were filmed near Portsmouth Harbour during anti-migrant protests on Sunday.
Activists shared the footage online, falsely claiming the crew had helped migrants reach shore. Some posts encouraged people to identify and 'name and shame' the volunteers.
The posts were viewed at least two million times, and some included incorrect names of RNLI crew members.
He received abusive messages, including calls to deny him service in pubs and suggestions that his family should be tracked down. At least one post was removed by X for breaking its rules.
This comes as 60 people gathered outside RNLI's premises in Poole, Dorset, last night, to voice their concerns that more migrant boats could arrive on the central south coast.
The protest comes days after 140 migrants were rescued by two RNLI lifeboats in the middle of the English Channel and taken to Eastney, Portsmouth.
An RNLI volunteer in Portsmouth, identified as Neil, was wrongly accused online of helping migrants reach Britain
Around 60 anti-immigration protesters gathered outside the RNLI headquarters in Poole, Dorset, on Wednesday to protest the charity's involvement in rescuing migrants in the English Channel
The protest followed the rescue of around 140 migrants by two RNLI lifeboats, who were eventually brought ashore at Eastney, Portsmouth.
The lifeboat carrying the migrants was refused permission to land them at Southampton Port or Portsmouth Harbour.
The crew was reportedly warned that entering either port or its approaches could result in criminal prosecution.
As a result, the boat took the migrants to Eastney in Portsmouth, a less central landing point.
Around 500 anti-migrant protesters gathered there, with police, firefighters, Border Force and other officials present. Protesters also blocked nearby roads.
Since then RNLI volunteers, including some of those who took part in the Portsmouth operation, have been subjected to threats and abuse.
Members of the anti-migrant campaign group Poole Patriots joined the protest directly outside the RNLI's HQ 50 miles from Portsmouth.
They accused the RNLI of perpetrating criminal activity by helping to bring in unvetted young men.
One protester said: 'We are here as a peaceful vigil because of the rape victims, the sexual assault and stab victims, because the RNLI are facilitating bringing these undocumented, unvetted men of fighting age onto our shores.
'They are coming in boatloads at a time and now further along our coast, which is obviously a problem. We already have 615 immigrants in our hotels in the Bournemouth area.
Speakers described the protest as a peaceful demonstration of patriotic concerns, while calling for the RNLI to stop transporting or assisting migrants
'The RNLI have perpetrated bringing them in as a taxi service, they are perpetrating rapes and criminal activity.
'As close as Portsmouth is to us, we do not want that.
'Would you leave the front door open to any Tom, Dick and Harry? The answer should be no.'
The protesters said they had nothing against the RNLI volunteers who risk their lives but blamed their bosses.
Army veteran Steve, from the group Hampshire Resistance in Gosport, said: 'I'm here because I'm a patriot and I want to help and support other patriots.
'We are all in this together. We love our country, I served my country.
'It isn't the RNLI's fault, they're just going by orders. It's a shame because we do need lifeboats but this is more important to stop this invasion.
'I know sometimes what we do isn't going to make an impact, but if we don't protest nobody is going to know there's a problem.
'The only way to win this is to take back the power and the only way to do that is vote them out.
'The government is panicking and turning the country into chaos.'
Other campaigners spoke through a microphone connected to a speaker, calling on the RNLI to stop facilitating the migrants to the claps and cheers of other protesters.
Some protesters linked immigration to rape, sexual assault and violent crime, and handed out rape alarms to women and girls at the demonstration
Protestors called for the RNLI to stop acting as a 'taxi service' for asylum seekers
Should the RNLI face criticism for rescuing migrants, or is their duty to save lives above politics?
One woman said: 'It's about what happens afterwards. These men are coming into our communities and the government are handing them pamphlets on how not to rape.
'They don't live by our rules.
'The left are so righteous. They say we stand for women's rights, no you don't because if you did you would be demanding answers.
'Every single day there's a rape or a murder. You're forgetting the victims. You think these men on dinghies are the victims, they are not persecuted, they are cowards.
'If your country is at war you stay and fight for your country, you don't go through 11 countries to get here and leave your women and children behind.
'They are coming here to fleece us for everything.'
There was a heavy police presence throughout the two-hour protest, and the RNLI also brought in their own security staff.
Most of the building's public areas, including the viewing platform and cafe, were closed and only one entrance in and out of it was open.
A large memorial sculpture outside the building that is dedicated to RNLI volunteers who have lost their lives had been cordoned off and covered over to protect it ahead of the protest.
Protester Tom, from Portsmouth, said: 'The police presence is just not required. We are not here to cause trouble. We are here to speak as patriots about our concerns.'