Bibby Stockholm: First asylum seekers board housing barge in Dorset

7 August 2023, 12:31 BST

Updated 54 minutes ago

The first small group of asylum seekers has boarded the controversial Bibby Stockholm housing barge after a series of delays over safety concerns.

Up to 500 men will eventually live on the vessel in Dorset while they await the outcome of asylum applications.

Some human rights groups have said housing people on board the barge is “inhumane” and locally opponents are worried about the impact on services.

But ministers insist the boat is safe and will be cheaper than using hotels.

Image caption,

There has been considerable local opposition to the barge coming to Portland

Video footage showed people carrying bags being escorted on to the barge by staff in high-vis jackets and coaches were also seen arriving at Portland Port.

However a number of asylum seekers due to be sent on to the vessel did not board following legal challenges, refugee charity Care4Calais said.

Some had been expected to be transferred from a Bournemouth hotel, but a BBC reporter at the scene saw a large blue coach leave at about 12:40 BST with just one – or possibly two – passengers on board.

Care4Calais chief executive Steve Smith said: “None of the asylum seekers we are supporting have gone to the Bibby Stockholm today as legal representatives have had their transfers cancelled.”

Among them were people who are “disabled, who have survived torture and modern slavery and who have had traumatic experiences at sea”, he added.

Bibby Stockholm is the flagship of the government’s latest plan to “stop the boats” and deter dangerous Channel crossings by migrants.

Home Office Minister Sarah Dines said it would provide “basic but proper accommodation” and would send “a forceful message that there will be proper accommodation but not luxurious”.

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Video caption,

Watch the moment Bibby Stockholm docks at Portland

The 222-room, three-storey barge arrived in Portland Port three weeks ago, chartered by the government to reduce what it says is the £6m-a-day cost of placing asylum seekers in hotels.

Ministers plan to increase the numbers aboard up to 500, despite safety warnings from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) which has raised concerns over narrow exits and possible overcrowding.

The Home Office says the men aged 18-65, from various countries, could spend nine months on board the barge, which it views as safe and has previously been used to accommodate homeless people and asylum seekers in Germany and the Netherlands.

News of the first arrivals also came with the government poised to make a series of announcements on asylum policy this week.

These include upping fines for employers and landlords who allow illegal migrants to work for them, or live in their properties.

Sarah Dines also said “all possibilities” were being examined on tackling the migrant crisis amid reports the government is looking at flying illegal migrants to the British overseas territory Ascension Island, in the middle of the southern Atlantic.

Amnesty International compared the Bibby Stockholm to “prison hulks from the Victorian era”, saying it was an “utterly shameful way to house people who’ve fled terror, conflict and persecution”.

Image caption,

TV crews film as a coach believed to be carrying asylum seekers arrives at Portland Port

Freedom from Torture, which provides therapeutic care for survivors of torture seeking protection in the UK, said the government should stop “forcing refugees to live in unsafe and undignified accommodation”.

Senior ministers hope to confirm the use of further barges in the coming months but they have struggled to find ports prepared to host them so far.

However, the government believes a successful scheme in Dorset will help encourage other areas to sign up.

It said there were currently about 51,000 “destitute migrants” in hotels across the UK, costing the taxpayer more than £6m a day.

The Home Office said its plans for alternative accommodation – including two more barges and three ex-military bases in East Sussex, Essex and Lincolnshire – offered better value.

However, the full costs of the barge have not been disclosed, with refugee campaign group Reclaim The Sea claiming the Bibby Stockholm would cost more than hotels.

Image caption,

Cabins on the barge surround enclosed courtyards

The vessel – chartered for an initial 18-month trial – includes catering, a TV room, a multi-faith prayer room and a gym.

Migrants will be free to leave on hourly buses to Weymouth and Portland, although they are encouraged to return by 23:00 each night.

The Home Office has said the barge occupants will undergo security screening and Dorset Police has said it does not expect any impact.

Dorset Council is receiving £3,500 per occupied bedspace on the barge, with additional funding provided to the local NHS and police.

The council has also received almost £380,000 in a one-off grant to help support local charity and voluntary organisations provide services, it is understood.

The Labour Party has been repeatedly pressed on whether it would continue to use the barge to house asylum seekers if it was in power.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said barges would continue to be used in the short term due to what he described as “the complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis”.