Liverpool and Middlesbrough could host next barges for asylum seekers, reports claim

The Home Office also refused to comment on the reports, although the Government is expected to confirm which locations will be used in the coming weeks. Credit: PA Images

Barges housing up to 1,000 asylum seekers will be moored near Liverpool and Middlesbrough, it has been reported.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed two more giant vessels will be used as migrant accommodation as part of plans to drive down costs of providing hotel rooms - which the government claims currently stands at £6 million a day.

The Prime Minister declined to say where the two new barges would be moored amid widespread speculation one could be based on Merseyside.

But, according to The Guardian, the vessels are expected to be placed at docks close to Liverpool, as well as Teesport in the North East.

A spokesman for Wirral Council said: “No decisions have been made and conversations are continuing with the Home Office.”

The Home Office refused to comment on the reports, although the Government is expected to confirm which locations will be used in the coming weeks.

The first barge, Bibby Stockholm, which will house up to 506 asylum seekers is expected to move to Portland in Dorset in the coming weeks. Credit: Bibby Marine

In a statement in the House of Commons on Monday, 5 June, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the two new barges would be implemented in consultation with relevant local authorities.

Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Kim Johnson, for Liverpool, Riverside, said: “The Prime Minister is refusing to say where those prison boats will be located, so I’d like to know from the Home Secretary whether there has been any relevant discussions with the local authorities?”

Ms Braverman said: “Our new sites will rolled out following and in conjunction with close consultation with the relevant authorities.”

In a speech on Monday, Mr Sunak said the number of people making the journey across the Channel was down by around a fifth since last year, but acknowledged the Government has “a long way still to go”.

But during his visit to Dover, he played down suggestions that fewer crossings were a result of poor weather conditions at this time of year rather than policy decisions.

Opposition critics likened the announcement of yet more measures to tackle the crisis to “Groundhog Day” and accused Mr Sunak of “cynical spin”.

The Guardian also cited sources which said discussions over the acquisition of further barges and disused cruise ships had taken place, meaning thousands of asylum seekers could be housed in vessels on Tyneside near Newcastle, Harwich in Essex, Felixstowe in Suffolk and the Royal London docks near City Airport.

These reports have not been confirmed.

Asylum seeker barge could be in place 'for years', warns Tory MP

It comes as peers threatened to delay the Illegal Migration Bill until the Government publishes the “facts and figures” showing the financial implications of the proposals.

Opposition peers called for the proposed legislation to be stopped from progressing further through Parliament until the findings of an economic impact assessment could be considered.

The Telegraph said Mr Sunak indicated he was open to using the Parliament Act to push through the Bill if needed. The rarely used law allows the Commons to overrule the Lords.

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