A giant barge which will be used to house asylum seekers off the Dorset coast has arrived in UK waters.
The Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge will stop in Falmouth, Cornwall, where it will undergo inspection and refitting.
The 222-bedroom, three-storey vessel, will house around 500 single male asylum seekers when it is in position in Portland Port, off the Dorsetcoastal town of Weymouth.
It will be ready for use this summer and will be operational for at least 18 months.
Image: The barge will stop in Falmouth, Cornwall, to be refurbished
Image: The 222-bedroom will be positioned in Portland Port, off the coastal town of Weymouth
Image: The Bibby Stockholm will be ready for use this summer, according to officials
The Home Office said the accommodation will be “basic” with healthcare provision, catering facilities and 24/7 security, at a reported cost of £20,000 a day.
It did not say how much the lease agreement cost but insisted it is “significantly cheaper than hotels”.
However, the plan has faced criticism from Tory-run Dorset Council and local Conservative MP Richard Drax.
Image: Facilities on board the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge. Pic: Bibby Marine Ltd
Image: Dining facilities on board the Bibby Stockholm. Pic: Bibby Marine Ltd
Mr Drax threatened legal action over the ‘floatel’, sparking fears of fresh tensions in the Conservative Party.
The South Dorset MP, who has previously backed rigorous measures to cut the UK’s level of immigration, said the barge was “dumped on our door” without consultation by the Home Office and urged Home Secretary Suella Braverman to scrap the idea.
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In April, Mr Drax described the Portland Port site as a “very, very restricted area” and raised concerns about keeping hundreds of vulnerable people there, which he said would place pressure on the port’s “very small” police force.
He told Sky News those being accommodated on the barge would be bussed in from the port to nearby Portland Harbour, which is a “summer resort dependent almost entirely on visitors and tourists” with busy beaches not far away.
The government is also facing criticism from charities and human rights campaigners who said the accommodation is not appropriate for people fleeing war.
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Why do migrants cross the Channel?
Liverpool-based operator Bibby Marine Limited said last month that the barge had been refurbished since it was described as an “oppressive environment” used for asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
Portland Port chief executive Bill Reeves said: “We encourage everyone in the community to approach this with an open mind and help us show other areas just how successful this type of initiative can be, both for the migrants and the local community.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously said the barge would save taxpayers’ money, with the government currently spending around £6m a day housing asylum seekers in hotels.
The Times previously reported that the vessel would cost £15,000 a day to charter, while the cost of berthing it in Portland would be more than £4,500 a day.
Additional costs would be required for services, including security and catering.
However, Labour said the barge is in addition to, not instead of, hotel accommodation.
Last year 45,755 people crossed the Channel in small boats, while more than 6,000 have arrived so far this year.
The team’s open-top bus will travel along The Mall from 12.10pm.
It will end with a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, which is expected to start at roughly 12.30pm and end at 1pm, the Football Association (FA) announced.
The Royal Marines Portsmouth band and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will perform on the stage and highlights from the tournament will be shown on big screens.
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Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey was one of those who asked the prime minister if it was “time for that bank holiday”.
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He was referring to comments made by Sir Keir in 2023. When, as leader of the opposition, he wrote on X that there “should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.
But with estimates suggesting an extra bank holiday would cost the economy £2.4bn, it’s understood such a move isn’t being planned by Downing Street.
‘There is no stopping them now’
The impact of the Lionesses second consecutive Euros title is already being felt across the UK.
At Bearsted Football Club in Maidstone, Kent, a mural of Alessia Russo, who levelled Sunday’s final with a goal in the 56th minute, has been unveiled.
Image: Alessia Russo scoring the levelling goal. Pic: Reuters
The club is where Russo first started playing, and chairman Jamie Houston told Sky News the Lionesses have helped transform the women’s game.
“Five years ago we never had a girl’s football team,” he told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone. “Now we have five separate teams for girls, and boys are accepting of more girls in the game.
“There is no stopping them now.”
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Lynda Hale, who played in the England squad in the first ever international women’s match against Scotland in 1972, reiterated that women’s football has changed drastically since she played.
“When I first started playing there was hardly anyone that would watch,” she told Sky News Breakfast.
“To put on the England shirt and think what we started has grown to this magnitude, and it is still going to grow, is absolutely fantastic. I think the sky’s the limit in women’s football.”
Asked what advice she would have for the current England squad after their win, Ms Hale said: “The girls need to make as many memories as they can and take everything in their stride.”
The suspect in the fatal shooting of a mother and her two children in Northern Ireland has died.
Ian Rutledge, a 43-year-old agricultural worker, had himself suffered a gunshot wound during the attack in the village of Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh on Wednesday morning.
He was taken to hospital where he remained in a serious condition until the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced he had died on Monday evening.
It is understood he was the only suspect in the murder investigation.
Vanessa Whyte, 45, a vet originally from County Clare, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, were all shot dead at a property on Drummeer Road during the attack.
The PSNI said last week that all four people who were shot were members of the same household.
Police have been investigating whether the attack was a triple murder and attempted suicide.
A prayer service took place for Ms Whyte and the two children in Barefield, County Clare on Sunday, following a community vigil in Maguiresbridge last Friday.
A funeral service is expected to take place in County Clare later this week.
Following Mr Rutledge’s death, the PSNI said detectives have “reiterated their appeal for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward”.
It comes after the PSNI issued an appeal on Saturday for information involving the movements of a vehicle.
They have asked anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday 22 July to call detectives on 101.
Image: A police cordon was in place close to the scene last week. Pic: PA
Tributes paid to ‘lovely-natured’ children
A local Gaelic football club said last week that Ms White and her children were all “active and beloved” members of their club.
Sara and James Rutledge also used to be part of a local cricket club, which said in a statement that it was “extremely saddened by the tragic events”.
“Both of them turned out to be talented young cricketers and two absolutely lovely-natured children,” the statement read.
Flowers, teddy bears and an Arsenal football top with written notes were laid close to scene of the incident in Drummeer Road in the days after the shooting.
Donald Trump has reignited his row with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after calling him a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.
During an hour-long news conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland, the US president hit out at the Labour mayor, who has responded with his own snipey remarks.
Asked if he would visit London during his state visit in September, Mr Trump said: “I will, I’m not a fan of your mayor, I think he’s done a terrible job.
“A nasty person, I think.”
The prime minister then interrupted and said: “He’s a friend of mine.”
But the president added: “I think he’s done a terrible job but I will certainly visit London, I hope so.”
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Sir Sadiq’s spokesperson then released a statement saying: “Sadiq is delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world.
“He’d see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer.
“Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Image: Sir Sadiq Khan was knighted in June. Pic: PA
They noted that Sir Sadiq has won three mayoral elections, including when Mr Trump lost the US election in 2020.
This is not the first time Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have locked horns.
Sir Sadiq then described Mr Trump as a “poster boy for racists”.
And in November 2024, after Mr Trump won his second term, Sir Sadiq said many Londoners would be “fearful” about what it would “mean for democracy”.
However, as Sir Keir tried to show diplomacy with Mr Trump after becoming PM, Sir Sadiq said he “wanted to work closely with the American president” ahead of his inauguration in January.
The London mayor said as somebody “who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States”.
But he added: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”