Hundreds of asylum seekers moved off ‘cruel and inhumane’ Bibby Stockholm

Hundreds of asylum seekers person been removed from a barge dubbed a ‘floating prison’ by charities.

Up to 400 men volition beryllium told if they tin enactment successful the UK erstwhile they person been moved into hotels arsenic portion of a program to prevention £7.7 cardinal successful asylum costs.

The Bibby Stockholm barge would person outgo an estimated £20million adjacent twelvemonth had Labour decided to widen the contract beyond its expiry successful January.

In usage for conscionable implicit a twelvemonth disconnected the Dorset coast, the Bibby Stockholm has had a arguable tally arsenic accommodation for radical seeking asylum successful the UK.

The archetypal residents were evacuated days aft moving successful erstwhile Legionella disease, perchance causing superior cases of pneumonia, was recovered successful its h2o supply.

None of the those connected the barge showed signs of having the disease, but charities saw it arsenic vindication of their warnings that the barge’s usage was ‘cruel and inhumane’.

The vas was 1 of respective sites, including RAF Wethersfield successful Essex and RAF Scampton successful Lincolnshire, utilized by the erstwhile Conservative authorities to prevention wealth connected lodging asylum seekers successful hotels.

Before the archetypal asylum seekers were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm, the Care4Calais charity, said: ‘Human beings should beryllium housed successful communities, not barges.

‘The authorities could conscionable get connected with processing people’s asylum claims, alternatively they are playing to a assemblage that seems to thrive connected quality suffering.’

Now the authorities appears to beryllium doing that, with the Home Office saying it expects request for accommodation to autumn arsenic it clears the asylum backlog.

As a result, some the Scampton and Wethersfield sites volition besides close.

Residents from the Bibby Stockholm volition beryllium relocated crossed England portion they await a determination connected their claims.

Locations see Cardiff, Wolverhampton and Bristol, BBC News reported. None volition beryllium moved to the Dorset Council area.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This Government inherited an asylum strategy nether unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck successful a backlog without their claims processed.

‘We person taken contiguous enactment to restart asylum processing which volition prevention an estimated £7 cardinal for the payer implicit the adjacent 10 years, and are delivering a large uplift successful returns to region radical with nary close to beryllium successful the UK.

‘Over the agelong word this volition trim our reliance connected hotels and costs of accommodation.

‘We stay perfectly committed to ending the usage of hotels for asylum seekers.’

Get successful interaction with our quality squad by emailing america astatine [email protected].

For much stories similar this, check our quality page.

MORE : ‘I was spat connected for being gay’: LGBTQ+ maltreatment successful migration detention

MORE : Paddington Bear’s British passport is an insult

MORE : Trump joins supplication for ‘holy and warrior angels’ to assistance ‘make America Godly again’

This tract is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.