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The discovery of Legionella on board the Bibby Stockholm is the latest embarrassing setback in a plan beset with controversy and delay from the very start.

Thankfully, no one on board has developed any symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially serious form of pneumonia spread by infected water droplets.

The Home Office insist the 39 people currently on board are being disembarked as a mere “precautionary measure” while further tests are undertaken.

But the timeline of this apparently routine water-testing process – and who in government knew what when – is far from clear.

Sky News understands the initial tests were carried out on Tuesday 25 July. The results came back nearly a fortnight later – on Monday 7 August, the very day the first 15 asylum seekers moved in at the start of this week.

But the Home Office say it was only yesterday – Thursday 10 August – that they were advised by the UK Health Security Agency to remove those on board, and then only the six individuals who boarded the barge yesterday. As a “further temporary precaution”, the decision was taken to remove all 39 individuals on board, which is happening today.

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‘Not right to expect four star hotels’

A Home Office source insists the “final tests” only came back to them yesterday, but that they have been working closely with the UKHSA and following its advice. The reasons for the delay in responding to the initial test results however are as yet unclear.

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Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock has described the Bibby Stockholm as a “floating symbol of the government’s incompetence” and a “complete and utter shambles”.

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Certainly the delivery of the plan to house 500 people on barge accommodation has been riven with problems from the beginning.

Local people have always objected to the location. Dorset MP Chris Loder has repeatedly raised concerns over overcrowding, with the Bibby Stockholm set to house double the number of people it was initially designed to accommodate.

The Mayor of Portland, Carralyn Parkes, who was previously a Labour parliamentary candidate, is bringing legal action over claims the Home Office didn’t get the necessary planning permission for the barge.

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Barge reminds migrant of Islamic State

The initial arrival of migrants on board was delayed by health and safety checks – with the Fire Brigades Union describing the vessel as a “potential death trap”.

Then out of the 50 finally set to board this Monday, only 15 initially did so, with 20 being removed from the list amid legal challenges.

While a handful more have clearly been arriving throughout the week, it’s clearly going to take time for the vessel to reach the full 500 target – clearly delayed even longer now all those already on board have been evacuated.

The Home Office insists the use of barges to house asylum seekers is a “tried and tested approach” which offers “better value for the British taxpayers” than the £6m daily cost of housing some 50,000 asylum seekers stuck on the backlog in hotels.

The use of more basic accommodation – from barges to disused military barracks – is a key plank of the government’s attempt to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats in the first place. The ultimate deterrent – deporting people to Rwanda – is currently on hold, pending a final decision from the Supreme Court.

This week was meant to be the government’s “small boats week” – showcasing a series of announcements to highlight its tough policies on immigration.

But the latest fiasco on board the Bibby Stockholm is yet another indication of how far the prime minister has to go to deliver on his promise to stop the small boats.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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