Asylum seekers set to move on to Bibby Stockholm barge ‘next week’ after delays
Asylum seekers could be moved on to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge next week, Sky News understands.
The vessel, which is currently docked in Portland on the coast of Dorset, was supposed to start accepting arrivals last week, but was pushed back.
Sky News reported that the first people would then move on to the barge on Tuesday this week – but that also was held up after last minute meetings were held responding to fire safety concerns.
A government source said the first arrivals could now come “next week”, as the local council in Portland “doesn’t want new services beginning on a Thursday or Friday”.
The source said the delay was because “working practices for port workers have to be signed off for the health and safety executive” – and not because there were “fire safety issues”, as had been reported.
Transport minister Richard Holden told Sky News this morning that the barge was going through its “final checks” but would not confirm if it was safety fears causing the hold up.
However, he added: “It is right that whatever accommodation we provide is safe and secure as well.
“I can’t put a timeline on it… the checks are going to take as long as they are going to take. It is important we get these things right.”
Labour’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said the latest delay showed the Conservatives were “failing in absolutely every single way” in dealing with the number of asylum cases coming through the system.
“The hotels are absolutely chock-full of asylum seekers because [the government] are failing to process these cases,” he told Sky News.
“The Rwanda scheme is just never going to work – it’s just a gimmick to grab the headlines rather than deal with the problem. And now we’re seeing the same problem with the barge as well.”
The 222-bedroom Bibby Stockholm will start housing 50 single men initially before housing up to 500 people who are currently staying in hotels.
Protesters in Portland in Dorset after the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge arrived from dry dock in Falmouth, Cornwall
The barge will have 24-hour security and accommodate single men only, who will sleep in bunk beds with between two and six people per en-suite room.
The vessel has attracted a backlash from Tory MPs, including Richard Drax, who represents South Dorset, and Chris Loder, for West Dorset, who has demanded to see safety reports and claimed it is going to house double the amount of people it is designed to hold.
Ben Selby, the assistant general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, criticised what he called “a reckless approach to the safety and well-being of both vulnerable refugees and firefighters” after the fire safety concerns were raised.
“The Home Office has declared that this plan is a cheaper option for housing asylum seekers,” he said.
“This is a damning indictment of the prevailing attitude that saving money is the highest priority, with people’s lives treated as collateral damage.
“Everyone has the right to live in safe accommodation and we back the calls urging these plans are abandoned immediately.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What is it like onboard the Bibby Stockholm?
Asked about the fire safety issue today, Rishi Sunak said: “All migrant accommodation has to go through a series of checks and inspections to make sure it complies with regulations.
“That’s what’s happening in this case.
“This is ultimately about fairness. I don’t think it’s fair that British taxpayers are forking out £6m a day to house illegal migrants in hotels.
Read more:
Homeowners and renters at risk of eviction to receive free legal advice
Thousands of criminals left prison ‘unlawfully’ over past decade
“I want to put an end to that – and that’s why we’re passing new laws.”
Mr Sunak said the Illegal Migration Act – which became law late last month – was the “right, fair and compassionate” thing to do.
It will mean that anyone arriving in the UK illegally will be ineligible to claim asylum.
It will also place on the home secretary a duty to remove illegal immigrants to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda – a policy that is currently held up in the courts.
Meanwhile, migrants who arrive in the UK illegally will be banned from returning in the future and will also limit the legal routes for appeal against a removal order.
The election of a pro-crypto President in the United States and growing macroeconomic turmoil will continue to drive investors to Bitcoin.
Politics
Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.
Trump’s administration could push DeFi from niche to mainstream, with crypto advocates eyeing potential pro-crypto policy shifts.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway