Plan for cruise ship to house asylum seekers in Birkenhead 'scrapped'

The Home Office is understood to have scrapped plans to base an asylum seeker accommodation barge near Liverpool after the port operator said such a proposal could not be supported locally.

Peel Ports Group, the operator of The Port of Liverpool, said it could "not see any conceivable scenario" in which public services would be "able to provide the necessary support" for refugee accommodation in the Birkenhead area.

The news comes after a protest was held in Liverpool earlier this week. The demonstration, outside the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, pleaded with Peel Ports Group not to enter into an agreement with the Government.

The PA news agency reports that the Home Office, following the response by Peel Ports and other agencies, is no longer considering using the site as a potential location.

A spokesperson for Peel Ports told ITV Granada Reports: “Our position on providing a berth for a vessel accommodating asylum seekers remains unchanged.

"We have consistently said throughout the process that whilst we could provide the berth, it was dependent on the necessary support from the local agencies.

"Last week, we simply observed that we could not see any conceivable scenario where the local agencies are going to be able to provide the necessary support to make this solution work.

"Peel Ports remains committed to fulfilling its full statutory obligations to provide access to any vessel, provided it can do so safely and securely, and it has the available infrastructure."

Mick Whitley, Labour MP for Birkenhead, told the Commons last month that Wirral Council had been informed in April by Home Office officials of proposals to accommodate up to 1,500 asylum seekers on a vessel berthed in the vicinity of Wirral Waters.

Mr Whitley said there was "great consternation" locally to the plans, and it would effectively be a "floating prison ship" - a description the Home Office rejects.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, responding to the MP on May 25, confirmed Birkenhead had been identified as a "potentially viable location" for floating accommodation, but said no final decision had been made.

The Home Office said pressure on the asylum system was requiring ministers to "look at a range of accommodation options which offer better value for the British taxpayer than expensive hotels".

During a trip to Dover this week, Rishi Sunak revealed that two more giant boats will be used for migrant accommodation.

As well as deploying former cruise liners and barges, ministers are also opening alternative sites within Britain as part of efforts to move refugees out of hotels.

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

Rishi Sunak announces two more barges to house 1,000 migrants