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Asylum seekers spent four days on board the Bibby Stockholm barge after Legionella bacteria was discovered, it has emerged.

Dorset Council says Home Office contractors were notified about the results last Monday – but all 39 migrants only left the controversial site on Friday as a “precautionary measure”.

The council went on to claim that a Home Office staff member was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday.

However, a government source has told Sky News that there is no record of this conversation – and claimed that the Home Office only received a written notification about the Legionella on Wednesday evening.

Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially deadly lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. It is contracted by people breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria.

None of the migrants on the barge have shown any symptoms of the disease, according to the Home Office.

Ministers are facing questions about who was informed about the Legionella test results and when.

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Sky News has pieced together a timeline of when Legionella bacteria was found on the barge, and how long it took before those migrants on board were evacuated.

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Inside the Bibby Stockholm barge

Tuesday 25 July

Dorset Council’s environmental health department takes water samples from the Bibby Stockholm barge and sends them to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for testing in its environmental lab facility.

The tests typically take at least 10 days to complete.

Monday 7 August

Initial test results are received by Dorset Council – the same day the first 15 asylum seekers board the Bibby Stockholm.

Dorset Council said it informed CTM and Landry & Kling – the companies contracted by the Home Office to operate the barge – that same day.

A spokesperson said it was not the council’s responsibility to tell the Home Office about the Legionella, as this fell to the contractors.

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People boarding the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge at Portland Port in Dorset. The Home Office have said around 50 asylum seekers would board the ship, with the numbers rising to its maximum capacity over the coming months, despite safety concerns raised by some of the county's Conservative MPs and locals. Picture date: Monday August 7, 2023.
Image:
People are pictured boarding the barge on Monday

Tuesday 8 August

Dorset Council’s environment health team meet the barge’s contractors “to further discuss results”. The council said a Home Office official was “verbally informed of the test results”.

A government source told Sky News there was no record of that conversation.

A small number of asylum seekers also arrive on the boat the same day.

Wednesday 9 August

Dorset Council officers visit the barge again to take further samples and “concern about control measures” prompt it to alert the UKHSA.

The UKHSA confirmed it was contacted by Dorset Council on Wednesday evening.

Sky News has been told that the first written notification to the Home Office was also that evening.

The Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge at Portland Port in Dorset, which will house up to 500 people. The Home Office have said around 50 asylum seekers would board the Bibby Stockholm, with the numbers rising to its maximum capacity over the coming months, despite safety concerns raised by some of the county's Conservative MPs and locals. Picture date: Sunday August 6, 2023.

Thursday 10 August

The UKHSA convenes an “incident management meeting” between Dorset Council, the Home Office and the contractors, as well as representatives from the NHS.

The meeting concludes no more passengers should be allowed to board the vessel while a risk assessment is carried out.

Those recommendations are later confirmed in writing to the Home Office.

A second incident management meeting and risk assessment takes place in the afternoon.

The government said it was advised by the UKHSA to remove the six people who had boarded the barge that day.

A decision to remove all 39 individuals as a “further temporary precaution” was not taken until the next day.

The Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge docked in Portland in Dorset

Friday 11 August

Asylum seekers are not evacuated from the barge until Friday – four days after Dorset Council says it informed the barge contractors about the Legionella test results, and three days after it said it told a Home Office staff member.

Dorset Council said it followed “the appropriate technical guidance throughout on what to do when a positive Legionella sample is received”.

One of the barge’s contractors, Landry & Kling, said it was “working closely with local authorities to ensure housing solutions are safe and appropriate for service users”.

Landry & Kling said it and its project partners “have followed all written recommendations made by Dorset Council Environmental Health”.

Sky News has contacted the Home Office to ask when officials were made aware of the test result and when ministers were told.

A spokesperson previously said the health and welfare of those on board the vessel “is our utmost priority”.

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves’s cash ISA reforms

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves's cash ISA reforms

Building society chiefs will this week intensify their protests against the chancellor’s plans to cut cash ISA limits by warning that it will push up borrowing costs for homeowners and businesses.

Sky News has obtained the draft of a letter being circulated by the Building Societies Association (BSA) among its members which will demand that Rachel Reeves abandons a proposed move to slash savers’ annual cash ISA allowance from the existing £20,000 threshold.

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The draft letter, which is expected to be published this week, warns the chancellor that her decision would deter savers, disrupt Labour’s housebuilding ambitions and potentially present an obstacle to economic growth by triggering higher funding costs.

“Cash ISAs are a cornerstone of personal savings for millions across the UK, helping people from all walks of life to build financial resilience and achieve their savings goals,” the draft letter said.

“Beyond their personal benefits, Cash ISAs play a vital role in the broader economy.

“The funds deposited in these accounts support lending, helping to keep mortgages and loans affordable and accessible.

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“Cutting Cash ISA limits would make this funding more scarce which would have the knock-on effect of making loans to households and businesses more expensive and harder to come by.

“This would undermine efforts to stimulate economic growth, including the government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes.

“Cutting the Cash ISA limit would send a discouraging message to savers, who are sensibly trying to plan for the future and undermine a product that has stood the test of time.”

The chancellor is reportedly preparing to announce a review of cash ISA limits as part of her Mansion House speech next week.

While individual building society bosses have come out publicly to express their opposition to the move, the BSA letter is likely to be viewed with concern by Treasury officials.

The Nationwide is by far Britain’s biggest building society, with the likes of the Coventry, Yorkshire and Skipton also ranking among the sector’s largest players.

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In the draft letter, which is likely to be signed by dozens of building society bosses, the BSA said the chancellor’s proposals “would make the whole ISA regime more complex and make it harder for people to transfer money between cash and investments”.

“Restricting Cash ISAs won’t encourage people to invest, as it won’t suddenly change their appetite to take on risk,” it said.

“We know that barriers to investing are primarily behavioural, therefore building confidence and awareness are far more important.”

The BSA called on Ms Reeves to back “a long-term consumer awareness and information campaign to educate people about the benefits of investing, alongside maintaining strong support for saving”.

“We therefore urge you to affirm your support for Cash ISAs by maintaining the current £20,000 limit.

“Preserving this threshold will enable households to continue building financial security while supporting broader economic stability and growth.”

The BSA declined to comment on Monday on the leaked letter, although one source said the final version was subject to revision.

The Treasury has so far refused to comment on its plans.

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

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Govt declines to rule out wealth tax after ex-Labour leader Lord Kinnock calls for wealth tax

The government has declined to rule out a “wealth tax” after former Labour leader Neil Kinnock called for one to help the UK’s dwindling finances.

Lord Kinnock, who was leader from 1983 to 1992, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that imposing a 2% tax on assets valued above £10 million would bring in up to £11 billion a year.

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On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson would not say if the government will or will not bring in a specific tax for the wealthiest.

Asked multiple times if the government will do so, he said: “The government is committed to the wealthiest in society paying their share in tax.

“The prime minister has repeatedly said those with the broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden.”

He added the government has closed loopholes for non-doms, placed taxes on private jets and said the 1% wealthiest people in the UK pay one third of taxes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year insisted she would not impose a wealth tax in her autumn budget, something she also said in 2023 ahead of Labour winning the election last year.

Asked if her position has changed, Sir Keir’s spokesman referred back to her previous comments and said: “The government position is what I have said it is.”

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The previous day, Lord Kinnock told Sky News: “It’s not going to pay the bills, but that kind of levy does two things.

“One is to secure resources, which is very important in revenues.

“But the second thing it does is to say to the country, ‘we are the government of equity’.

“This is a country which is very substantially fed up with the fact that whatever happens in the world, whatever happens in the UK, the same interests come out on top unscathed all the time while everybody else is paying more for getting services.

“Now, I think that a gesture or a substantial gesture in the direction of equity fairness would make a big difference.”

The son of a coal miner, who became a member of the House of Lords in 2005, the Labour peer said asset values have “gone through the roof” in the past 20 years while economies and incomes have stagnated in real terms.

In reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves refusing to change her fiscal rules, he said the government is giving the appearance it is “bogged down by their own imposed limitations”, which he said is “not actually the accurate picture”.

A wealth tax would help the government get out of that situation and would be backed by the “great majority of the general public”, he added.

His comments came after a bruising week for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had to heavily water down a welfare bill meant to save £5.5bn after dozens of Labour MPs threatened to vote against it.

With those savings lost – and a previous U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments also reducing savings – the chancellor’s £9.9bn fiscal headroom has quickly dwindled.

In a hint of what could come, government minister Stephen Morgan told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast: “I hold dear the Labour values of making sure those that have the broadest shoulders pay, pay more tax.

“I think that’s absolutely right.”

He added that the government has already put a tax on private jets and on the profits of energy companies.

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over $2M cold-calling crypto scam

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UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

UK sentences 2 men to prison over M cold-calling crypto scam

Two men who admitted to running a crypto scheme that defrauded 65 investors have both been sentenced to over five years in prison.

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