Door fitted incorrectly, fire safety fears and concerns about Port staff ‘working practices’: The health and safety issues delaying arrival of migrants on Bibby Stockholm barge as ministers deny claims the vessel is a ‘deathtrap’
- The Prime Minister refused to confirm when asylum seekers will arrive on board
The controversial migrant barge in Dorset continues to face delays after a door was fitted incorrectly amid a range of fire safety issues.
Rishi Sunak today refused to confirm whether asylum seekers will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm next week after enduring a number of setbacks in recent days.
The barge, which has been the subject of huge protests in Portland, has been moored in Portland for more than two weeks, with the first arrivals due to be welcomed on board yesterday.
But safety checks continue to be carried out this week following a number of problems, including a door being put on the wrong way round, according to Sky News.
The issue has since been fixed, but working practices for port authority staff are now also under scrutiny, causing more hold-ups.
Pictures today showed a food delivery being unloaded from a Bidfood wholesaler truck, suggesting final preparations ahead of the arrivals are under way
orkers load supplies on to the Bibby Stockholm immigration barge in Portland this morning
The barge, which has been the subject of huge protests in Portland, has been moored in Portland for more than two weeks, with the first arrivals due to be welcomed on board yesterday
It comes amid warnings from fire chiefs, who have raised concerns about overcrowding and access to exits, that the Bibby Stockholm may be a ‘deathtrap’.
However, this was played down by Energy Secretary Grant Shapps, who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain today: ‘This actual ship was previously used by Germany to house migrants, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be absolutely safe.
‘Ships are used to transport people all the time and there’s no inherent reason why that (not being safe) would be the case.
READ MORE: Migrants staying on barge will get hikes on the Dorset coast, allotments and cricket classes as video shows tour of ‘floatel’
‘That’s actually why these final safety checks are being carried out.’
Migrants staying on the Home Office’s new ‘floating hotel’ will be given a taste of British life including tending to allotments, guided hikes in the Dorset countryside, cycling and cricket.
The asylum seekers will also get free busses and taxis to enjoy the local town and organised ‘cultural events’.
Also on board the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, there is free canteen food around the clock, TV rooms, a gym and 222 en-suite bedrooms.
Government sources have suggested the first arrivals may not be on board until next week, but the Prime Minister – who says the scheme will end the British taxpayers’ £6m-a-day bill to house asylum seekers in hotels – refused to put a timeframe on it when quizzed by LBC’s Nick Ferrari this morning.
‘The point here is not is it next week, is it yesterday, the fact is this is an example of me doing something different that hasn’t been done before to help solve a serious problem,’ he said.
‘It is in the process of being done, there is a barge here, people are going to be put on it, which will ease pressure in local communities and save [money].
‘The Bibby Stockholm will be in operation as soon as it has passed all the checks and regulations, as soon as possible, that is the key thing.’
Workers hand over boxes of goods to be brought on to the Bibby Stockholm barge this morning
An aerial shot of the Bibby Stockholm barge, where workers were loading on supplies today
A view of inside one of the bedrooms onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge
The canteen area on board the barge, which will house up to 500 asylum seekers
A view of inside the gym onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge
It comes as staff were seen carrying provisions on to the vessel earlier this morning.
Pictures showed a food delivery being unloaded from a Bidfood wholesaler truck, suggesting final preparations ahead of the arrivals are under way.
Speaking later on Sky News, Ben Selby, assistant general secretary at the Fire Brigades Union, said its main concern is the number of people due to live on the barge, which was initially designed to accommodate around 200 but could now house 500.
READ MORE: Fears Bibby Stockholm migrant barge could become a ‘floating Grenfell’ due to fire safety concerns
‘That then raises significant fire safety concerns for us, and also concerns that, if a fire was to break out on the Bibby, could firefighters make the adequate rescues and access where necessary,’ he said.
‘By increasing that occupancy, then we would expect certain measures and assessments to be made to ensure that those that were being accommodated there were safe, and that firefighters – if and when they were needed to make access to the Bibby – they were also safe, or as safe as they could be in doing so when attempting to rescue people.’
Meanwhile, the leader of a refugee charity warned today that housing people on the ‘floating prison’ would be ‘inhumane’ and risks ‘retraumatising’ people who have escaped war zones and other ‘horrors’.
Steve Smith, the CEO of Care4Calais, also expressed his fear that the barge is an ‘accident waiting to happen’ because of insufficient fire safety on board with the Government putting money as a ‘higher priority than people’s lives’.
Mr Smith said that the charity is currently assisting 11 people who have received letters from the Home Office advising them that they will be moved to the vessel.
The letter states: ‘You are not being detained under immigration powers, and this is not detention accommodation. You are free to leave the site, but we would request that you sign in and out of the site when you leave and return, so we can assure your safety.’
Those on board the controversial barge can sit back and watch television on comfy seats
The barge also features a classroom, where a range of lessons will be provided
The bedrooms on board contain a wardrobe as well as a small desk, chair and television
A view of the courtyard where fitness equipment will be installed for the asylum seekers to use
It adds that facilities on board will include an on-site nurse, recreational space, voluntary sector activities, English classes, entertainment areas, worship room, private space for consultations and to make phone calls and wifi access.
READ MORE: Asylum seekers will be handed gift bags by locals filled with toiletries, maps of the area and a ‘phone-a-friend’ hotline number
The Government has said there is ‘no timeframe’ for the arrival of the first refugees to the Bibby Stockholm while final safety checks are being carried out.
Mr Smith said: ‘The obvious fire hazard of moving a large number of people across to the Bibby is clearly causing a delay.
‘We know the Bibby barge was intended for 220 people, we know the intent is to put 506 residents aboard but, by the time you add security staff and other staff, that would come to 546.
‘Now you have a barge with narrow corridors with three decks, with terms of crowding people in into what were originally single person rooms with two and in some of the larger rooms up to six, doubling those on board.
‘If you’re on the far side of this barge and on the upper storey and there are only two fire escapes and that’s where you are when a fire breaks out, you can imagine the absolute chaos and pandemonium as panicked individuals crammed in narrow corridors try to get out.
‘They are not able to escape on the water side and if they do, what if they can’t swim, jumping into the water without lifejackets.
‘This is an absolute accident waiting to happen, it looks like the Government is prepared to save money, making it a higher priority than people’s lives.’
The barge also offers a multifaith room for hundreds of asylum seekers to use on board
A range of meals will be served from the barge’s newly-refurbished canteen
He added: ‘Amongst those we are supporting are the survivors of torture, people with disabilities and people who have experienced trauma at sea.
‘Housing any human on a ‘floating prison’ like the Bibby Stockholm is unacceptable. Doing so to people like this is completely inhumane.’
He continued: ‘Our concern in many cases, probably most cases, is that these will be individuals who have crossed the Channel in flimsy boats and they don’t do this for fun.
‘They will have probably had a fairly terrifying journey from the place of origin which could be something like Afghanistan where, having survived the war, perhaps having fought on the side of British troops there.
‘Individuals like that who have been through all these horrors have been through unwelcoming and sometimes hostile countries like the Balkans and Libya to get to Calais, sleeping rough, braving the Channel under really difficult circumstances and then to be put further on a boat, this has all the potential for re-traumatising.’
Mr Smith said that speeding up the asylum process by prioritising those from high-risk countries such as Afghanistan and providing a safe passage system similar to that put into place for Ukraine would reduce the need for centres like the Bibby Stockholm.
He said: ‘What can we do? Speed up asylum claims process, clear the backlog, provide safe passage, allow people to start working and integrate better into the community and then concerns about it costing us £6 million a day start to dissipate.’
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