Suella Braverman under pressure to axe ‘untenable’ barges plan after bacteria discovery on Bibby Stockholm
The home secretary is facing fresh pressure to scrap plans to house asylum seekers on barges after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water supply of the Bibby Stockholm.
The Home Office removed all 39 migrants from the vessel in Dorset on Friday, in the latest embarrassing setback to a policy that has been beset with controversy and delay from the very start.
The removal came less than a week after the first migrants were transferred onto the barge – though legal challenges granted some a last-minute reprieve from having to board.
Care4Calais, which said it stopped 20 migrants from being moved onto the floating accommodation on Monday, said the discovery of bacteria shows their “concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified” as they called on ministers to axe the policy.
Steve Smith, chief executive of the charity, said: “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.”
Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, can cause a serious type of lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease.
None of those on the barge have shown signs of having the disease and are all being provided with a health assessment, the Home Office said.
It was not clear where the migrants would be moved to on Friday night.
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Inside the Bibby Stockholm barge
Putting them in hotels would likely cause fresh embarrassment for the government, which procured the barge alongside other budget sites in an effort to reduce the £6m-a-day cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels.
The Home Office insisted disembarking those on board was a “precautionary measure” while further tests are carried out – but questions remain about who knew what and when.
Sky News understands routine testing of the water supply was initially carried out on Tuesday 25 July but the results did not come back until Monday 7 August – the same day asylum seekers began to board the Bibby Stockholm, which is docked in Portland Port.
However the Home Office was not made aware of the results until two days later on Wednesday 9 August. Six people boarded the vessel a day later but were later removed on the advice of the UK Health Security Agency, with a decision taken on Friday to remove everyone.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said it was “extraordinary” that it appeared proper checks had not taken place before migrants were moved on board.
“It’s absolutely right that the barge has to be evacuated but what a complete and utter shambles. This is a catalogue of catastrophe and government ministers should hang their heads in shame,” he told Sky News.
He said the government would not need to use “barges, hotels or military bases” if they tackled the backlog in the asylum system which has reached more than 173,000 – outstripping the 50,000 units he said were in the UK’s asylum estate.
He called the Bibby Stockholm “a floating symbol of Conservative incompetence”.
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Jenrick: Barge is ‘perfectly decent’
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was understood to be chairing meetings about the situation on Friday.
But one campaign group, No to the Barge, said Mr Jenrick should stand down from his government position with “immediate effect” after promising just days ago the Bibby Stockholm was safe.
On Wednesday, he told Sky News the barge was “perfectly decent accommodation”, despite earlier warnings from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the vessel was a potential “death trap”.
The union reiterated its position in the wake of the latest development as they accused the government of ignoring their concerns.
Assistant general secretary Ben Selby said: “We wrote to Suella Braverman more than a week ago to demand a meeting to discuss these issues. We have had no response to that letter, and our fire safety and operational safety concerns remain.
“It remains our professional view that it’s a potential ‘death trap’ and an accident waiting to happen.
“However, Suella Braverman and her ministerial colleagues are hellbent on confining vulnerable people in jail like conditions on what is effectively a prison ship.”
Suella Braverman is facing pressure to axe the plan to house migrants on barges
It comes at the end of the government’s “small boats week” which was supposed to highlight new hardline policies for stopping Channel crossings.
The announcements were somewhat overshadowed by a row involving Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson saying asylum seekers who don’t like barges should “f*** off back to France” and later admitting the government had “failed” to tackle illegal immigration.
Tory figures were largely silent on Friday night, though one unnamed senior figure was quoted in the i newspaper calling for Ms Braverman to go.
Scott Benton, a former Conservative MP who now sits as an independent, tweeted that the Bibby Stockholm had become a “complete and utter farce” – adding: “As if having porous borders isn’t bad enough, we can’t even move 39 illegal immigrants onto a barge properly.”
Mr Sunak has made “stopping the boats” one of his five key priorities in government.
However, he faced a further blow this week after 775 people were recorded crossing the English Channel on Thursday – the highest daily number so far this year.
It pushed the cumulative total of the number of people who made small boat journeys from France to the UK to more than 100,000 since 2018, when records began.
Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said.
The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.
In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.
“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Born in Essex in 1934, Dame Maggie became an internationally recognised actress – one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous actresses of her generation.
Her first significant accolade came after playing the fanatical teacher in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969, which won her a best actress Oscar and BAFTA.
Her second Oscar came for her role in California Suite in 1978 which won her a best supporting actress trophy, as well as a Golden Globe.
Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley in the Downton Abbey movie (2019). Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock
More recently she won a new generation of fans as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey and playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies.
Although she was a tour de force in leading roles on the West End stage, she was equally happy – even during the years of her mega-stardom – to accept supporting roles, particularly in films.
Dame Maggie played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
The Downton Abbey TV series won her a series of awards – three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
TV presenter Gyles Brandreth has led the tributes, describing her as “wise, witty, waspish, wonderful” and “one of a kind in every way”.
Sir Keir Starmer posted on X that Dame Maggie was a “true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come” while former prime minister Rishi Sunak described her as “an icon of the stage and screen”.
Meanwhile a message posted by BAFTA said: “Dame Maggie was a legend of British stage and screen, winning five BAFTAs as well as a BAFTA Special Award and BAFTA Fellowship during her highly acclaimed career.”
She took Maggie as her stage name because another Margaret Smith was active in the theatre. She was 18 when she first appeared on stage, in Twelfth Night.
Laurence Olivier spotted her talent, invited her to be part of his original National Theatre company and cast her as his co-star in a 1965 film adaptation of Othello.
She played Mother Superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992). Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room With A View (1986). Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
She starred alongside Richard Gere in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock
Some of her best-known movies included: Young Cassidy in 1966, Death On The Nile in 1979, Quartet in 1982, The Secret Garden in 1994, Tea With Mussolini in 2000, Gosford Park in 2002, and The Lady In The Van in 2016.
She married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967. They had two sons and divorced in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998. She was made a Dame in 1990.
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UK
UK weather: Met Office issues 185 warnings for flooding as M5 motorway closed and drivers abandon cars
More than 180 flood warnings and alerts are in place across England this morning after days of heavy rain – forcing the closure of a motorway as drivers abandoned their cars.
The Met Office said northern and central parts of England and Wales had been hit hardest, resulting in widespread travel disruption across Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands.
As of this morning, the Environment Agency had 66 flood warnings in place across England, meaning flooding is expected, and 119 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.
A new yellow weather warning for strong winds was later issued for the south west of England and Wales on Sunday.
The yellow weather warning for strong winds on Sunday. Pic: Met Office
Disruption is likely as winds strengthen from west to east during Sunday, with gusts of 50-55 mph likely in places, exceeding 60mph in the most exposed areas.
The Met Office said this would be accompanied by outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, which could lead to some surface water and spray.
An earlier yellow rain warning for large parts of England and Wales ended at 9am this morning, with a separate amber warning for areas of the Midlands and south expiring at 6am.
Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said localised flooding would continue despite the warnings ending.
Check latest weather forecast where you are
He said: “A lot of these areas have been hit by rain in the past few weeks, which means the ground is already saturated.”
While the Met Office expects the weather to “ease up and become a bit drier”, some areas will still be dealing with the aftermath of the heavy rain.
“Rivers often take time to respond, so we’re expecting disruption to continue in central and southern parts throughout the morning. Those planning to travel on Friday should factor this into their journey times,” Mr Dewhurst said.
Commuters faced significant disruptions this morning, with heavy rain and flooding causing problems to roads and rail services.
Rail services between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands were cancelled, with disruption expected all morning, after severe flooding at Wellington station and a tree on the line.
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Images posted on social media showed tracks at a train station in Shropshire completely submerged and abandoned cars on an empty motorway in Gloucestershire.
Avon Fire and Rescue also said this morning that it was rescuing people stranded on the M5 in Gloucestershire, which remains closed northbound between junction 16 and junction 14 because of flooding.
The motorway had reopened southbound between J14 and J15, but hour-long delays and up to four miles of congestion were still expected in both directions.
One football club has appealed for help getting their grounds “straightened up and dried out” after heavy rainfall on Thursday evening.
Non-league team AFC Telford United in Shropshire posted photos and videos on social media of significant flooding at their pitch and gym facilities.
Councils and emergency services in Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire said several roads had to be closed but reassured residents they were working to keep people safe overnight.
Tewkesbury Borough Council, in Gloucestershire, has been handing out sandbags to residents to help protect their homes against flooding.
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The rain will ease this afternoon and is set to usher in much colder conditions on Saturday, the Met Office said.
Meanwhile, Oxford residents were subject to even stranger weather when a tornado-like feature was spotted in the sky on Thursday.
A funnel cloud seen outside Oxford on Thursday afternoon. Pic: Ana Cavey
The Met Office believes it is a funnel cloud, which can become a tornado if the bottom of the structure makes contact with the ground.
Pic: Ana Cavey
Several other funnel clouds have been reported to the Met Office in various locations this week, it said.
St Mirren defender Shaun Rooney has been charged with assaulting a woman as well as a breach of the peace against a man in a Glasgow city centre takeaway.
The Scottish Premiership side announced on Thursday the 28-year-old had been suspended on a “precautionary basis” after he reported the alleged incident to his bosses.
In a statement, the Paisley club vowed to “undertake a full investigation” and said it would be making “no further comment during this process”.
On Friday, Police Scotland confirmed Rooney had been arrested and charged and is due to appear at the city’s sheriff court at a later date.
The force said: “A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with an assault on an 18-year-old woman and a breach of the peace against an 18-year-old man in takeaway premises on Queen Street, Glasgow, in the early hours of Thursday 19 September 2024.
“He was released on an undertaking to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date.
“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
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Rooney began his career in the youth set-up at Dundee United and has played for a number of teams including Dunfermline Athletic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone.
He returned to Scottish football this summer following a two-year contract with Fleetwood Town in Lancashire, England – where former Celtic captain Scott Brown was manager for a spell.
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