24 July 2024 , 16:15
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The Bibby Stockholm barge, which is docked in Portland, Dorset, is costing more than £41,000-a-day to lease. It will close in January, the Government has confirmed
The Bibby Stockholm asylum barge will finally be shut down in January, it has been announced.
Ministers have confirmed that the contact for the controversial vessel, which currently houses around 400 people, will not be renewed. It costs over £40,000 a day to lease, and the Home Office said it would have to shell out over £20million to continue using the barge next year.
The three-storey megabarge, which is docked in Portland Port in Dorset, has been described as the "physical symbol" of the last Government’s "inhumane treatment of people". Campaigners have welcomed its closure, but called for people onboard to be moved off immediately.
There have been serious questions about welfare and safety on the barge, where 27-year-old Leonard Farruku took his own life in December last year. It was evacuated just weeks after it opened last summer following the discovery of Legionnaire’s bacteria onboard, but the previous Government steadfastly defended its use.
The announcement comes a day after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper unveiled plans to finally process tens of thousands of asylum claims. Labour says it plans to slash £7.7billion from the asylum budget over the next decade by tearing up botched Tory legislation that leaves tens of thousands of people in limbo.
Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “We are determined to restore order to the asylum system, so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced.
“The Home Secretary has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation which is running up vast bills for the taxpayer.”
Imran Hussain, executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “For too long we have heard first-hand from refugees about life on the Bibby Stockholm, that it is prison-like, horribly overcrowded and isolated, with people unable to access the essential specialist support they need. Let’s remember that people onboard are people from conflict and war in places like Syria, Afghanistan and Iran, and simply want to be safe.
“This is an important step in the right direction towards fixing our, costly, chaotic and dysfunctional asylum system.”
And Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais said: “The Bibby Stockholm became the physical symbol for the last Government’s inhumane treatment of people seeking sanctuary in the UK. The despair and suffering the barge has caused will live long in the people who were residents of it. Nor will not renewing the contract bring back Leonard Farruku, whose family have lost their loved one forever."
And charity Migrant Voice responded: "This is cause for celebration, however, there is no reason those on board should be kept there until the contract ends. We know that the Bibby Stockholm is entirely unsuitable, and exacerbates mental and physical health issues of some of those held there."
Last year Home Office permanent secretary Sir Matthew Rycroft said that £22,450,772 was being spent on the barge under the terms of the first contract. The £41,000-a-day bill relates only to the leasing of the vessel, and does not include berthing, security and extra support for the local council.
The announcement comes after asylum seekers on the vessel last week staged a protest calling for faster decision-making. Stand up to Racism Dorset said around 60 to 100 people living on the barge took part in the action.
Protesters refused meals and organised a two-hour sit-in. Organisers said almost all the men living there had been waiting more than a year, with many there "much longer".
One of the men described the Bibby Stockholm as the "hell barge".