The Bibby Stockholm, a 222-cabin barge moored off Portland port in Dorset, took its first migrants captive. However, they have been taken off due to a Legionella discovery.
By Friday there were 39 onboard the vessel, but no longer it seems.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “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’ [disease], and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.”
Already warned
Ben Selby, Assistant GS at Fire Brigades Union, didn’t hold back when talking about the Bibby Stockholm.
He told Sky News last week: “We feel like we’re looking down the barrel of another possible disaster. We believe it to be a death trap & it’s an accident waiting to happen..”
Mismanagement
Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais, said: “We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point.
The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this government’s hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain’s asylum system.
The government should now realise warehousing refugees in this manner is completely untenable, and should focus on the real job at hand – processing the asylum claims swiftly, so refugees may become contributing members of our communities as they so strongly wish.
Related: Watch: Man moans Bibby Stockholm captives are getting fed
