Rishi Sunak defends Bibby Stockholm Portland plan after series of setbacks

The Prime Minister has defended the Government’s decision to accommodate migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port despite a series of setbacks.

Rishi Sunak argued the Government’s approach to dealing with the Channel crossings was fairer for the taxpayer than putting up asylum seekers in hotels.

Migrants were housed on the barge off the Dorset coast on Monday last week.

But they were removed on Friday when traces of Legionella were found in the water supply, a bacteria which can cause the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease.

Mr Sunak swerved a question about whether he was personally warned about potential health risks for asylum seekers on board the barge.

He 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.”

Mr Sunak went on to argue that ministers were taking a fair approach when it came to 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.”

The Bibby Stockholm will reportedly cost taxpayers more than £20,000 a day and could accommodate more than 500 migrants in total.

Dorset Council has been paid £2 million to help manage the scheme locally.

Ministers estimate the current cost of housing migrants in hotels across the UK is £6 million a day.

NGO Reclaim the Sea has estimated the savings from the hotel bill through the use of the Bibby Stockholm could be £4,694 a day, a sum the advocacy group describes as “trivial”.

Health minister Will Quince had earlier suggested migrants could return to the barge within days, describing the Legionella scare as a “teething issue”.

But he said migrants will only return to the vessel, moored in Portland Port, Dorset, if it is safe to do so.