Bibby Stockholm to be out of action for weeks over Legionella as Tory calls for Suella Braverman to be sacked

Suella Braverman was under heavy pressure on Friday after being forced into the “embarrassing” decision to remove asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge, with one senior Conservative insisting “she should be sacked”.

The Home Secretary also faced claims that she ignored warnings that the vessel was a “huge health and safety risk” as her department began removing migrants due the discovery of potentially deadly Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

A Home Office source indicated all 39 asylum seekers coming off the Bibby Stockholm are now likely to be housed in hotels – an embarrassment for the Government which procured the barge in an effort to move migrants out of hotels following complaints from Tory MPs.

Bibby Stockholm will be out of action for several weeks to ensure it is free of Legionella, public health sources have told i.

The disembarkment comes only four days after the first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge at the beginning of the Government’s so-called “small boats week” designed to highlight the action ministers are taking to tackle the Channel crisis.

The week also saw the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels reach 50,000 – a 25 per cent increase in the six months since Mr Sunak said he would end hotel use – and total Channel small boat crossings hit 100,000 amid Tory infighting over the issue.

A Home Office insider told i: “The whole saga is embarrassing. You couldn’t make it up at this point.”

A senior Tory urged Mr Sunak to sack Ms Braverman, although Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is reportedly to be chairing meetings on the situation and led the Home Office’s media response this week.

“This utter farce follows endless warnings to Home Office ministers about the prospect of health outbreaks, inadequate health screening and wider public health concerns following cases of TB and scurvy in recent weeks in these highly contentious migrant accommodation sites.

“Having created a serious and now deadly migrant housing crisis, it is obvious to all that the Home Secretary has lost all control and authority on the issue of illegal migration.

“She is responsible for this crisis and should be held to account for her irresponsible actions that have brought disease to these sites and now threaten the public health of the local community.

“She should be sacked.”

The bacteria, which is naturally present in water systems, can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a serious lung infection which is fatal in 10% of cases.

The Home Office first found out about the presence of the disease on Wednesday after being informed of test results by Dorset Council, a source said.

The situation “escalated” following further test results on Thursday and the UK’s Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) advised ministers late that night to remove six asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel on Thursday.

As a further temporary precaution to reduce the health risk as much as possible, the Home Office decided to remove all 39 asylum seekers.

A public health source said checking a building or a facility for Legionella would have been a “basic foreseeable thing” that any employer or controller of a building should have known and there is “zero excuse” for the barge not being checked first for the bacteria.

Employers and building controllers have a legal duty to check for Legionella, under Health and Safety Executive code of practice for buildings, 2013.

It is “blindingly obvious” to check showers and air conditioning for Legionella regularly, especially if the units haven’t been used for a while, the source said.

Employers and building controllers can be prosecuted for failing to adhere to this code of practice.

Local environmental health officers tell hairdressers to flush out their shower hoses after they’ve been closed for a week or two’s holiday, so the Home Office building team should have known, the public health source said.

“It is a systemic failure to do the basics,” they added.

The Fire Brigades Union suggested Ms Braverman had ignored its warnings about the barge.

Assistant general secretary Ben Selby said: “The Fire Brigades Union warned the Home Secretary that forcibly holding migrants on this barge was a huge health and safety risk.

“We wrote to Suella Braverman more than a week ago to demand a meeting to discuss these issues.

“We have had no response to that letter, and our fire safety and operational safety concerns remain.

“It remains our professional view that it’s a potential ‘death trap’ and an accident waiting to happen.

“However, Suella Braverman and her ministerial colleagues are hellbent on confining vulnerable people in ‘jail-like conditions’ on what is effectively a prison ship.

“This outbreak of Legionella suggests that it’s only a matter of time before either lives are lost or there is serious harm to a detainee.”

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Across the country, most people want strong border security and a properly managed and controlled asylum system so the UK does its bit alongside other countries to help those who have fled persecution and conflict, while those who have no right to be here are swiftly returned.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority.

“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.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “This country’s asylum system is ran by a Home Secretary who is not fit for office and an out of touch Prime Minister.

“The Conservatives’ unworkable project on the Bibby Stockholm has been a disaster every step of the way.

“Ministers need to get serious. That means ending their headline chasing tactics, and instead tackling the backlog and providing safe and legal routes for refugees.”