Asylum seeker dies on the Bibby Stockholm ahead of crucial MP vote on Rwanda plan – after controversial barge was dogged with safety issues
An asylum seeker has died today on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.
Two ambulances and three police cars were seen outside the controversial vessel this morning. The person’s age and country of origin are not yet known.
The person was found dead this morning and police and ambulances were on the scene, a resident on the boat told ITV. The Home Office said it was ‘aware of reporting’ about the incident but released no details.
The first asylum seekers were brought back to the barge, moored in Portland, Dorset, in October – two months after it was evacuated following the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.
The Home Office has said all necessary tests had been completed before residents were allowed to return. The barge can house 506 people, but is not yet at full capacity.
It comes as Rishi Sunak prepares for tonight’s crunch vote his Rwanda policy. The initiative could see asylum seekers – some of whom may have been housed on the Bibby Stockholm – sent thousands of miles to the East African country.
A person onboard the vessel said the man was found dead this morning. It is pictured earlier this year
The first asylum seekers were brought back to the barge, moored in Portland, Dorset, in October
An aerial view of a blue coach with asylum seekers on board arriving at Portland Port in Dorset in October
Asked to react to news of the asylum seeker’s death, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘I’m afraid I just simply haven’t seen this breaking news, so I don’t know the details of it.
‘But obviously, first and foremost, my heart goes out to the family and friends of an individual who has lost their life.’
Speaking as he answered questions following a speech in Buckinghamshire this morning, Sir Keir added: ‘I don’t know the circumstances so I’ll try and give a fuller answer when I do.
‘But my human instinct is, of course, with the individual who has lost his or her life and the family and friends of that individual who will be absolutely grieving just as we speak.’
Portland has been a focus of protests by campaign groups who oppose the use of the barge.
Nicola David, of the One Life To Live campaign, said that a letter signed by the 39 men who previously stayed on the barge described how they had found the Bibby Stockholm to be a ‘terrifying residence’ like a prison and had left them feeling ‘stress and anxiety’.
READ MORE – Rishi Sunak holds firm against Tory rebels as he bats away calls for Rwanda plan to be toughened before crucial vote tonight
She said: ‘Nothing about the Bibby Stockholm has gone well – it wasn’t even the Home Office’s first or second choice of barge, so they had to settle for something 50 years old, rotten, and unfit for use.
‘The barge had endless delays for repairs, Legionella, failed plumbing, and fire safety failure.
‘I discovered that it costs more per head than hotels, not less, so the Government’s strategy doesn’t add up. And there are claims going through the High Court.’
In September, local councillor Carralyn Parkes, who is mayor of Portland, lost a High Court fight against Home Secretary Suella Braverman over the lawfulness of housing asylum seekers on the barge.
Mrs Parkes wanted to argue that housing migrants on the barge in Portland Harbour was illegal because it breaches planning and equality laws.
But Mr Justice Holgate ruled that Mrs Parkes, a member of Portland Town Council and the mayor of Portland, did not have an arguable case.
Lawyers for the Home Office argued Mrs Parkes’s claim was ‘out of time’, ‘without merit’ and said the judge should refuse to give permission for the challenge to proceed to a trial.
Government lawyers said the local planning authority did not think planning permission was required.
They also argued there was no ‘general principle’ that housing ‘non-British asylum seekers’ together on a vessel was ‘unlawful’ under a public sector equality duty.
Opposition to the Bibby Stockholm has also come from organisations including the Fire Brigades Union, which has warned over ‘serious fire risks’ and warned of the risk of overcrowding on the vessel if it reaches full capacity.
In response, then Home Secretary Suella Braverman pointed out that the barge has been used as accommodation numerous times before.
A photo of a TV room onboard the barge, which was previously used to house offshore workers
A range of meals will be served from the barge’s canteen
Asylum seekers boarding the Bibby Stockholm in October
‘I believe the barge is safe,’ Ms Braverman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in August.
‘This barge has accommodated people in the past – asylum seekers, oil rig workers and barges of this kind have been used to accommodate asylum seekers, for example in Scotland, so I’m very confident that this barge is safe for human habitation.
READ MORE – Inside the Bibby Stockholm: Migrant shares footage praising the ‘good food and beds’ – but others call it a floating ‘prison’
‘We followed all of the advice and protocols in anticipation of embarkation.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of reporting of an incident involving an asylum seeker on the Bibby Stockholm.
‘It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time’.
Today’s tragic news comes as the Government faces intense pressure over its immigration policy, with Rishi Sunak trying to avert a damaging rebellion by right-wing Tory MPs over his Rwanda plan before a crunch vote tonight.
The PM is facing the biggest test of his premiership so far as he scrambles to defuse a mutiny by right-wingers who are demanding the government toughens up emergency legislation to revive the deportation scheme.
Lee Anderson, the Conservative deputy chairman, Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger were among those arriving for an hour-long breakfast meet in Downing Street. They were served bacon rolls, despite earlier claims smoked salmon was on the menu.
Today’s tragic news comes as the Government faces intense pressure over its immigration policy, with Rishi Sunak trying to avert a damaging rebellion by right-wing Tory MPs over his Rwanda policy
Tory MPs include Jonathan Gullis, Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger (left, second left third left) arrived at No10 this morning for talks with the PM
Critics have been warning that ‘major surgery’ is still needed to fix the flagship Bill, with as many as 40 MPs prepared either to abstain or vote against in the Commons tonight.
In theory 29 Tories going into the Noe lobby, or 57 abstaining, would be enough to thwart the premier.
READ MORE – Keir Starmer seizes on Tory ‘psychodrama’ over Rwanda ‘gimmick’ as he makes another bid to distance himself from Labour’s Corbyn era
It would be the first time since 1986 that a government Bill has not secured a second reading, which is usually a formality before amendments are brought later in the process.
But after the discussions, Mr Sunak took to social media to insist that his party must ‘back this bill’.
A No10 source stressed that the text as it stands has been ‘drafted with close attention to detail’.
‘It was a very useful meeting to hear MPs thoughts and discuss their concerns. The bill has been drafted with close attention to detail, with colleagues input helping to shape the legislation,’ the source said.
‘The tests set for the bill have been met and we will continue to listen to and engage with colleagues across the party as it passes through parliament.
This bill will work and will do what we need it to do.’
In a sign of alarm among Tory whips, MPs on one Commons committee are said to have been ordered to return from a Caribbean trip in order to take part in the showdown.
Former Cabinet ministers Dame Priti Patel, Ben Wallace and David Davis have been mobilised as Downing Street desperately tries to contain the chaos, delivered a stark message that defeat for Mr Sunak could collapse the Government and force a general election.
The Prime Minister will hold last-ditch talks with rebel MPs this morning aimed at heading off defeat when the Commons votes tonight on his legislation, designed to finally get deportation flights off the ground (file image)
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