Three-storey barge to house hundreds of small boat migrants off the cost of Dorset

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BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated handout photo issued by Bibby Marine Ltd of the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, a 222 bedroom, three-storey vessel, which can house up to 506 people, and could be the first to be used to house asylum seekers under Government plans aimed at reducing the reliance on hotels. Issue date: Wednesday April 5, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS MigrantsBarge. Photo credit should read: Bibby Marine Ltde/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

A THREE storey barge has been bought by ministers to house hundreds of small boat migrants, it was announced today.

As revealed by HOAR on Sunday, the floating Bibby Stockholm off the cost of Dorset will host asylum seekers for new arrivals in the coming weeks.

The Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge can hold up to 500 people

It is set to be moored off the cost of Dorset

The deal was signed earlier today by the Home Office to charter the vessel.

The 91-meter barge can hold up to 500 people on it, which ministers want to be seen as a “deterrent” for people trying to come to the UK on small boats.

Portland Port had already confirmed it was selected by the Home office to provide accommodation.

Chartering it is set to cost tens of thousands of pounds every day – but ministers hope the more basic accommodation will put people off making the dangerous trip.

The agreement will be the first of its kind ever signed by the British government.

Councils are expected to be sweet talked into accepting the extra migrants with an extra £3,500 cash payment each.

But local Tories are trying to thwart the plan.

Local Tory MP Richard Drax is plotting legal action to try and stop it – saying his area is unsuitable.

The accommodation is meant to be more basic

Inside the barge which has its own gym

The Home Office has been in talks with the port for some time. It is near Weymouth, the hugely popular seaside town.

The port has previously been home to a floating prison boat – named HMP Weare – which docked there from March 1997 until it closed in 2005.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “The Home Secretary and I have been clear that the use of expensive hotels to house those making unnecessary and dangerous journeys must stop. We will not elevate the interests of illegal migrants over the British people we are elected to serve.

“We have to use alternative accommodation options, as our European neighbours are doing – including the use of barges and ferries to save the British taxpayer money and to prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe.

“All accommodation will meet our legal obligations and we will work closely with the local community to address their concerns, including through financial support.”

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