Migrants housed on barge near seaside town may behave badly, MP says

Residents of seaside town earmarked for migrants barge are worried what the ‘506 young men will do at the height of summer’ when they are ‘unmonitored and with little money’, MP says

• Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, said the barge is ‘not in the national interest’
• The Bibby Stockholm was due to be in Portland Harbour dock two weeks ago 

The residents of a seaside town earmarked for a migrants barge are worried about how they will behave over the summer when they are ‘unmonitored’, ministers have heard. 

Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, also insisted the plans to place the Bibby Stockholm in Portland Harbour were ‘not in the national interest’ as ministers had claimed.

The three-storey 93-metre long accommodation vessel, which will house around 500 migrants, has suffered delays in reaching the Dorset port after Home Secretary Suella Braverman promised MPs it would be in the dock two weeks ago.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Drax told the Commons: ‘My constituents in Weymouth and on Portland and I are getting a little tired of being told that placing a migrant barge in our port is in the national interest.

‘It is not in the national interest, nor in ours.

Richard Drax (pictured), the Conservative MP for South Dorset, said the plan to house migrants on a barge in Portland Harbour is ‘not in the national interest’

The three-storey 93-metre long accommodation vessel Bibby Stockholm will house around 500 migrants (pictured arriving into Falmouth in May for an inspection)

‘This barge designed for 222 will accommodate 506 illegal migrants, already testing our overstretched resources. It was imposed on us without any consultation.

‘Many concerns, both on the barge, and what the 506 young men will do going around a seaside resort at the height of the summer unmonitored and with little money.

READ MORE: Inside the giant barge that will house 500 migrants who arrive in Britain 

‘Can he stop this and ask the Home Secretary to do likewise?’

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden responded: ‘I am sure he appreciates that we need to reduce the bill of housing asylum seekers in hotels and we need to look at different measures to accommodate them.

‘Of course I am very happy to engage with him. I am sure the Home Secretary will do as well to ensure that we can find a satisfactory solution in his constituency that protects his constituents’ interests.’

The barge is part of the Government’s plans to move migrants out of hotel rooms, with the aim of reducing the cost on the public purse.

Ministers also hope the basic standard of accommodation will have a deterrent effect on unauthorised migration.

The barge has 222 en-suite rooms and also features a gym and games room. 

The barge has suffered delays in reaching the Dorset port after Home Secretary Suella Braverman promised MPs it would be in the dock two weeks ago

The barge has 222 en-suite rooms and also features a gym and games room

The gym has exercise equipment including running machines, spin bikes and indoor rowers 

The barge offers ‘delicious, nutritious food’ in its restaurant and Wi-Fi throughout the ship

The vessel, operated by Liverpool-based Bibby Marine, arrived in Falmouth for renovations in May.  

Rishi Sunak made stopping the boats one of his five pledges to the public when he came to office as Prime Minister.

Last month, he insisted his plan was ‘starting to work’, saying the number of people making the journey had reduced compared with last year and played down suggestions this was linked to poor weather conditions rather than policy decisions.

However, migrant crossings have set a new record for the month of June, the most recent Government figures have shown.

Some 3,824 migrants arrived in June, compared with 3,140 in the same month last year.

This pushes the total number of people detected making the journey so far this year to 11,434.

Photos from inside the barge show clean but functional interiors, including a bar area with seats gathered around small wooden tables.

The boat has exercise equipment including running machines, spin bikes and indoor rowers.

The vessel will accommodate up to 506 people in 222 en-suite bedrooms who will be free to come and go while their asylum claims are processed

Single adult males will be housed on the barge while their asylum claims are processed

Richard Drax revealed residents of Portland Harbour (file image) were worried about the behaviour of the migrants over the summer

It was due to be moved into position off Dorset in the middle of June. 

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said it would help trim the £6million-a-day cost of housing Channel migrants in hotels. 

He also claimed it would help ‘prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe’. 

The Home Office has said other barges will be announced ‘in due course’.  

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