Asylum seekers removed from Bibby Stockholm after ‘Legionella bacteria found in water’

39 people arrived on the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port in Dorset earlier this week – but are now being removed (Picture: Getty Images)

Asylum seekers on board the controversial Bibby Stockholm have been taken off the barge after Legionella bacteria was found in its water supply.

All 39 people on the barge at Portland Port in Dorset will now be moved to new accommodation as a precautionary measure.

Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water but can cause a serious type of pneumonia affecting the lungs, known as Legionnaires’ disease.

None of those on the barge are showing signs of having the disease, the Home Office has said.

On Monday, after weeks of delays caused by safety concerns, local opposition and legal challenges, the first 15 asylum seekers boarded.

Around 50 people were expected to move on to the giant vessel but around 20 were granted a last-minute reprieve after a series of legal challenges.

The Home Office said the ‘health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority’.

The Home Office has confirmed that asylum seekers have been taken off the barge (Picture: Getty Images)

A spokesperson said: ‘Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation.

‘Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s environmental health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

‘As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.

‘No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires’, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.

‘The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel. Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person to person.’

There were 39 people on board the barge – they have now all disembarked (Picture: Getty Images)

Routine testing was done before migrants boarded, but test results showing traces of the bacteria have only come back since then, according to BBC.

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Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, previously described the barge as ‘perfectly decent accommodation’ and the government was aiming for 500 people to be on board by the end of this week.

That was despite the firefighters’ union warning of concerns over overcrowding and access to fire exits making it a ‘potential deathtrap’.

Dozens of human rights organisations and campaigners, including the Refugee Council and the Institute for Race Relations, signed an open letter last month saying the proposal was ‘cruel and inhumane’.

People were pictured boarding the barge on Monday, August 7 (Picture: PA)

Steve Smith, CEO of the Care4Calais charity, said on Monday: ‘To house any human being in a “quasi floating prison” like the Bibby Stockholm is inhumane. To try and do so with this group of people is unbelievably cruel.

‘Human beings should be housed in communities, not barges. The government could just get on with processing people’s asylum claims, instead they are playing to a gallery that seems to thrive on human suffering.

‘We will continue supporting people to challenge their decision.’

Mr Jenrick is understood to be chairing meetings about the situation.

Rishi Sunak said the accommodation will ‘help solve a serious problem’, telling LBC last week: ‘This is an example of me doing something different that hasn’t been done before.’

Take a look inside the barge here with its crawling CCTV, 20ft fences and TVs that don’t turn on.

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