Rishi Sunak plans to force people back onto asylum barge 'as soon as possible'

14 August 2023 , 13:40

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Rishi Sunak plans to force asylum seekers back onto the Bibby Stockholm barge "as soon as possible", Downing Street said - amid calls to abandon the project altogether.

The controversial boat, which the Government says can accommodate over 500, is currently sitting empty after tests last week found the deadly Legionella bacteria onboard. The Home Office now faces serious questions over when it became aware after Dorset Council claimed it told contractors last Monday - the day people were first moved onto the vessel.

Ministers and officials are locked in a blame game as they try to explain why it took until Friday to clear 39 people from the barge, which is in Portland, Dorset. Health Secretary Steve Barclay brazenly claimed the Government acted "swiftly" and No 10 insisted the barge will be back in use soon.

The PM's official spokesman declined to say when, but added: "We do expect them to be back onto the boat as soon as possible. The Home Office is awaiting the results of further tests. Once those have been completed, obviously the intention is to return people."

He said Mr Sunak still has confidence in the Home Office and in under-fire Home Secretary Suella Braverman, in spite of the embarrassing debacle. And No 10 said discussions are ongoing about acquiring more barges as it tries to deal with a record asylum backlog, with hotel accomodation costing around £6million per day.

Out of touch Rishi Sunak doesn't regularly read papers or online news sites

Mr Barclay did not deny the possibility Home Office officials may have been aware as early as Tuesday last week. He said: "As soon as ministers were notified on Thursday night, there were some concerns with that, they took instant action."

He added: "It may be the council notified the Home Office, that is an issue for those in the Home Office to respond to, obviously this is a Home Office lead. My understanding from colleagues in the Home Office is it was notified to Home Office ministers on Thursday and they then took very quick action as a result."

Campaigners have called for the barge to be decommissioned, claiming a diptheria outbreak at the Marston asylum centre last year and the latest incident showing the Home Office isn't up to the job.

A Refugee Council spokeswoman said: “From widespread diphtheria at Manston to legionella bacteria on the Bibby Stockholm, the Home Office has shown time and again that it is not able to operate large-scale centres safely and effectively.

"Exposing people who have come to our country in search of safety to potentially deadly diseases while cramming them into unsuitable accommodation despite repeated warnings from doctors, campaigners and official bodies is not acceptable."

Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais said: “The Government refused to heed safety warnings before placing people on the Bibby Stockholm so it’s not surprising they are refusing to learn any lessons from the last week.

“People were rushed on board the Bibby Stockholm before the Government could guarantee their safety. They then failed to alert those on board about the Legionella outbreak. It showed a scandalous disregard for peoples safety, and now the Government seems intent on making all the same mistakes again.

“Last week confirmed what many of us have been saying for months - barges are not fit for human accommodation. The Bibby Stockholm, and plans for more barges, should be abandoned. Instead the Government should get on with processing peoples asylum claims.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer insisted that housing migrants on barges, in hotels or disused military air bases was not a solution to the "broken" asylum system. But he was unable to rule out an incoming Labour government maintaining their use in response to the situation it would inherit on taking office.

"I don't want to keep barges or hotels or airfields, for that matter," he told reporters in Scotland. "Now, we're going to inherit a very difficult situation and so we're going to have to manage as best we can."