Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers could return to barge 'within days', says health minster
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak being asked about the Bibby Stockholm barge during a visit to a hospital in Buckinghamshire today
Asylum seekers could return to the Bibby Stockholm barge within days, health minister Will Quince has suggested.
It comes after it emerged that Home Office contractors were told about traces of Legionella bacteria found on the barge on the same day asylum seekers were transferred there.
The discovery eventually led to the removal of all 39 people who had moved onto the barge on Friday 11 August.
The health minister said this morning (15 August) that it is hoped people will move onto the barge "in the next few days".
He told LBC Radio: “Of course public health and safety is key, but we hope in the next few days we will be able to start getting people on to the Bibby Stockholm.
“It is absolutely the right thing to do but public health and safety is always our paramount concern.”
Will Quince suggested Home Office officials and their contractors would examine what happened with the Bibby Stockholm barge where asylum seekers were removed after Legionella was detected in the water.
Mr Quince said the Home Office was on top of the issue, telling Sky News: “It is important we should always prioritise public health, that is without question.
“But that is now being addressed and I hope that we will be able to, in the coming days, address that issue and then people will be able to embark back on to the Bibby Stockholm.”
Following claims the Home Office was informed days before ministers were told about the issue, Mr Quince said: “No doubt the Home Office, alongside their contractors, will want to look at the timeline of that.
“But what I do know, as soon as ministers were made aware an immediate decision to disembark was made on public health grounds.
“I know that there won’t be anyone going on to the Bibby Stockholm until it’s totally safe.”
Rishi Sunak today avoided a question about whether he was personally warned about potential health risks for asylum seekers on board the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge, where Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water supply last week.
Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a hospital in Buckinghamshire, the Prime Minister said: “What has happened here is it is right that we go through all the checks and procedures to ensure the wellbeing and health of the people being housed on the barge.”
He went on to argue that the Government was taking a fair approach when it came to tackling the small boats crisis, adding: “But taking a step back, what is this about? This is about fairness.
“It is about the unfairness, in fact, of British taxpayers forking out £5 million or £6 million a day to house illegal migrants in hotels up and down the country, with all the pressure that puts on local communities. We’ve got to find alternatives to that, that is what the barge is about and that is why we are committed to it.
“But more fundamentally, we’ve just got to stop people coming here in the first place illegally. That is why one of my five priorities is to stop the boats.
“We’ve passed tough new laws that, when they come into force, will enable us to do that and we’re already seeing numbers this year that are lower than they have been in previous years. That is the first time that has happened.
“I know there is a long way to go on this but I’m determined to fix this problem and we are making progress and people can be reassured we will keep at it.”
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