People seeking refuge, who were ordered to live on a controversial giant barge, have been spared after legal challenges argued that the vessel was unsafe and unsuitable for traumatised individuals.
Following the initial group of 15 individuals being moved onto the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, lawyers are now intervening to prevent the transfer of dozens more onto the 220-bedroom boat.
These developments have taken place as the Home Office fulfills Rishi Sunak’s promise to use barges and former military bases to house some asylum seekers, after the cost of accommodation in hotels reached £1.9bn pounds last year.
However, the use of these facilities has been condemned by refugee organisations for being expensive, cruel, and inhumane. The Fire Brigades Union has described the barge as “a deathtrap” due to overcrowding and narrow corridors and exits.
The Home Office may face further legal action if it resists formal appeals to exclude asylum seekers from consideration due to mental health issues, physical conditions, and other vulnerabilities.
The refugee charity Care4Calais stated that it has prevented 20 people from being forced onto the barge so far, with numerous referrals coming in from other refugees staying in hotels on an hourly basis.
“None of the asylum seekers we are supporting have gone to the Bibby Stockholm today as legal representatives have had their transfers cancelled,” said Steve Smith, the charity’s chief executive.
“Among our clients are people who are disabled, who have survived torture and modern slavery and who have had traumatic experiences at sea. To house any human being in a ‘quasi floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is inhumane. To try to do so to this group of people is unbelievably cruel.”
Wilsons, the immigration solicitors, is collaborating with Migrants Organise to represent clients who received official notices stating that they would be moved to the barge “imminently.”
Brian Dikoff of Migrants Organise said: “We had very serious concerns about safety onboard and that the Home Office would not properly screen or safeguard individuals planned to be moved to the barge and we are now seeing these concerns become reality.”
Coaches were observed arriving at the dockside in Portland on Monday morning, and local residents greeted them with welcome signs.
Cheryl Avery, the Home Office’s director for asylum accommodation, confirmed that 15 people had been relocated onto the vessel, but declined to comment on the specifics of the “minor legal challenges” that were mentioned.
The prime minister is facing pressure to relocate individuals from hotels due to a growing backlog of unresolved asylum cases within the Home Office.
Labour has accused the government of a “disastrous failure” after official figures revealed that the number of people seeking refuge in hotels had exceeded 50,000.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, described this data as “shocking,” with a 25% increase from 40,000 in December, when Sunak pledged to end the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.
According to the latest Home Office figures released on Monday, there were 50,546 people seeking refuge housed in hotels as of June this year.
The first arrivals on the Bibby Stockholm occurred during a period of uncertainty regarding the government’s migration policies at the beginning of Sunak’s “small boats week,” during which a series of related announcements are planned.
Earlier on Monday, minister Sarah Dines suggested that the Bibby Stockholm barge could reach its full capacity of 500 people by the end of the week. However, No 10 later indicated that she may have misspoke and clarified that numbers would increase “over time” as the government seeks to expedite the delayed arrival of people onto the vessel.
Dines also claimed that “all possibilities” for tackling the number of small boats in the English Channel are being examined, following reports that the government is considering plans to transport individuals who arrive through unauthorized means 4,000 miles (6,500km) to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic.
Whitehall sources have indicated that such plans are not being pursued. The prime minister’s official spokesperson declined to comment on “speculation”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was a cabinet minister when the Ascension plans were first considered, stated that the idea was abandoned due to a cost of £1m per person.
He told GB News: “You’ve got to send out Portakabin residences for your builders, then you’ve got builders who have to live there whilst they’re doing the building, then you have to build the premises for the migrants to live in, then you’ve got to persuade people that they want to go and live on Ascension Island for long periods to run the centre.”
The barge, which is expected to remain docked for at least 18 months, is one of three sites where ministers aim to accommodate around 3,000 asylum seekers by autumn. The other two sites are the former RAF bases Wethersfield in Essex and Scampton in Lincolnshire.
Labour has stated that it would continue to use the barge for a “very short-term period” if it were to win the next election, blaming the “complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The first asylum seekers are now being housed on the vessel in Portland after it successfully completed all health, fire and safety checks. The number of people on board will increase gradually with more arrivals later this week and in the coming months, as part of a carefully structured phased approach.
“This marks a further step forward in the government’s work to bring forward alternative accommodation options as part of its pledge to reduce the use of expensive hotels and move to a more orderly, sustainable system which is more manageable for local communities. This is a tried and tested approach that mirrors that taken by our European neighbours, the Scottish government and offers better value for the British taxpayer.”