Bibby Stockholm: Migrants set to return to accommodation barge

Migrants are set to return to an accommodation barge later, the BBC understands.

Food supplies have already been brought aboard the Bibby Stockholm, moored off Portland in Dorset.

The Home Office said it was now "safe and secure ".

In August, all 39 migrants on board the vessel were disembarked as a precaution when traces of Legionella bacteria were found, less than a week after the men first boarded the facility.

Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires disease - a type of pneumonia.

A letter, seen by the BBC, has been sent to asylum seekers confirming their re-embarkation in the coming days.

It reiterated that all asylum accommodation continued to be offered on a "no-choice basis".

An asylum seeker, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to the BBC ahead of his return to the barge.

He said it had been a "difficult" process for him as he hasn't seen his family for nine months, but being in a hotel had felt "free".

"It's feels scary. We have been living happily in the community," he said.

"[The barge] will be crowded. If there's a single virus, then you know everyone will be affected. I think it will be very bad for all of us."

He added: "I lived there for five days and have experience on the barge and that's why I am not happy to go back.

"In the hotel we are free to come and go at any time, we are free and [on the barge] we are bound to something - it's like a prison. It is difficult for all of us and many have said they don't want to go back."

Mr Justice Holgate ruled in the government's favour, saying Mrs Parkes did not have an arguable case.

She has since issued a further judicial review claim in the High Court challenging the ongoing decision by Dorset Council that it has no planning jurisdiction over the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland Harbour.

The local authority has not mounted a legal challenge to the barge, stating that it would be costly and have little chance of success.

The barge is part of the government's policy to reduce the costs of placing migrants in hotels.

The Home Office said: "Delivering accommodation sites such as the Bibby Stockholm will be more affordable for taxpayers, helping to reduce the £8 million daily cost of hotels as well as being more manageable for local communities.

"We're confident that the project, which will house asylum seekers in safe and secure accommodation, meets the planning requirements".

The 222-room, three-storey barge, chartered by the government for 18 months, arrived at the port in July.

It was previously used to accommodate homeless people and asylum seekers in Germany and the Netherlands.

West & south west of England correspondent

The Bibby Stockholm was intended to show there's no luxury in the UK's asylum process, that Britain isn't the soft touch some think. But instead the accommodation barge - repeatedly delayed and beset by problems - became a floating illustration of how complicated our migration challenge is.

It was announced in April, was late arriving from Italy, then delayed for refit and inspections in Cornwall, and finally reached Portland in July. When journalists were shown on board we saw a clean and functional vessel with bedrooms down narrow corridors, typical of the industrial accommodation it previously offered to offshore oil workers.

Bunk beds were the obvious sign of the doubled capacity which concerned many opponents of the plan, and fire safety experts. What we couldn't see was the Legionella bacteria lurking in the water system. That meant the government's August "small boats week" started with the first 39 asylum seekers stepping aboard, then ended with them evacuated back to hotels, after just five nights - embarrassing given the Home Office's intention to reduce hotel bills.

There will be a hope everything has now been double, if not triple, checked to avoid any further delays. But even if the Bibby Stockholm reaches its capacity of 500 men, that's only a tiny fraction of the 175,000 currently backlogged in the asylum system.

The barge is expected to draw further protests, having already proved controversial on Portland and beyond. Some people question - with the extra costs of chartering, mooring, transport and security - how a vessel can be cheaper than a hotel.

The risk is that conditions on board still look too harsh for those concerned about asylum seeker's rights, but not tough enough for those who want a harder line against immigration and small boat crossings. The solutions to "stop the small boats" are difficult and contentious.

The Bibby Stockholm was planned to be the first of a fleet of barges moored around the coast. So far, it stands alone.

The Home Office previously said "using vessels as alternative accommodation, like our European neighbours are already doing, will be better value for British taxpayers and more manageable for communities than costly hotels".

However, human rights group 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".

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

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