Bibby Stockholm: Government to investigate migrants' baptisms

The Home Secretary is investigating how the asylum system deals with migrants who have converted to Christianity.

It follows claims from a Weymouth church that Muslim men living on board the Bibby Stockholm barge, which is moored off Portland in Dorset, were preparing for Christian baptism.

Sussex MP Tim Loughton raised the issue in Parliament on Wednesday.

Weymouth Baptist Church insisted the requests for baptism were genuine.

You can apply for UK asylum based on religion if you have a well-founded fear of persecution in your home country because of your religious beliefs.

Dave Rees, an elder at Weymouth Baptist Church, defended its decision to take in the men - 40 in total with six having already been baptised.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Sunday, he said the church had a Farsi-speaking minister who knew the asylum seekers' language and culture.

"Because we had this link we felt confident that the measures we put in place and the scrutiny we have, there's no reason we would doubt these asylum seekers," Mr Rees said.

He added some of the men said they were Christians in their home country while others had completed the 10-week Alpha course in the UK, which is an evangelical programme run by local churches.

"Obviously we need to make sure that they believe in Jesus, they believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they repent of their sins and also they want to start a new life in the church," he said.

"And they have to give a public testimony at their baptism, which they did in a native language and was translated into English."

After this process, he said there were no qualms from the church about the men's faith in Christianity.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Loughton asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: "Given that the Church of England has now issued secret guidance for clergy supporting asylum applications for these damascene conversions, who is the church accountable to?

"And are tax payers being scammed by the archbishop?"

Mr Sunak confirmed Home Secretary James Cleverly had asked for more information on migrants converting to Christianity.

Following Prime Minister's Questions, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued the following statement: "Over the last week it has been disappointing to see the mischaracterisation of the role of churches and faith groups in the asylum system.

"Churches up and down the country are involved in caring for vulnerable people from all backgrounds.

"For refugees and those seeking asylum, we simply follow the teaching of the Bible which is to care for the stranger.

"It is the job of the government to protect our borders and of the courts to judge asylum cases.

"The church is called to love, mercy and do justice. I encourage everyone to avoid irresponsible and inaccurate comments - and let us not forget that at the heart of this conversation are vulnerable people whose lives are precious in the sight of God."

The Bibby Stockholm became fully operational in October 2023.

The vessel is chartered by the government to hold about 500 people while their asylum claims are processed.

The visit came after Leonard Farruku, 27, was found unresponsive aboard the vessel on the 12 December.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk