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Louise Thomas
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The Bibby Stockholm contract will not be renewed, the Home Office has announced, with Labour confirming plans to scrap the migrant barge next year.
Extending the use of the boat, moored in Dorset, would have cost over £20 million next year, the government said. The barge will continue to be used until January 2025.
The latest announcement forms part of Labour’s plan to make £7.7 billion of savings in asylum costs over the next decade.
Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said the Home Office has set in motion plans to save money on accommodation which is “running up vast bills for the taxpayer”.
Yesterday, home secretary Yvette Cooper set out plans to clear the asylum backlog, something the department said would save “billions of pounds”.
The Home Office disclosed last year that the barge is costing taxpayers £41,000 a day, equivalent to £205 per person. This is more than the estimated £140 per night for a stay in a hotel.
The three storey barge, which has capacity to house 500 people, has been used to house male asylum seekers aged 18-65 since August 2023.
Lloyd Hatton, MP for South Dorset, dubbed the barge an “unworkable, expensive and ineffective gimmick”, accusing the previous government of having failed to listen to concerns from the local community.
In a statement following today’s announcement, he said: “Following a constructive conversation with the minister for immigration, I can confirm that the Bibby Stockholm barge will be closed down when the contract expires in [January].
“In my meeting with the minister, it was made clear that the Home Office now agrees that the barge is an unworkable, expensive & ineffective gimmick. I would like to thank the new minister for being constructive and fair with this decision.
“From the start, our community knew that the barge was a gimmick that simply would not work. This is why I have campaigned relentlessly to shut down the Bibby Stockholm barge.”
Mr Hatton added: “I will now spend every day making sure that the closure of the barge happens in an orderly fashion. We must not forget that the previous Conservative government landed our community with the barge.
“The previous [government and] Tory MP failed to properly listen to our concerns from the get-go. This is the difference a Labour MP working hand-in-hand with a Labour government can make.”
Dame Angela said: “We are determined to restore order to the asylum system, so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced.
“The Home Secretary has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation which is running up vast bills for the taxpayer. The Bibby Stockholm will continue to be in use until the contract expires in January 2025.”
Reacting to the decision, Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais said: “The Bibby Stockholm became the physical symbol for the last Government’s inhumane treatment of people seeking sanctuary in the UK.
“The despair and suffering the barge has caused will live long in the people who were residents of it. Nor will not renewing the contract bring back Leonard Farruku, whose family have lost their loved one forever.
“Whilst this is a sensible decision, at this very minute, we are in the High Court challenging the government over the inhumanity being inflicted on over 500 men inside the Wethersfield camp. The current government is choosing to fight this case when the solution should have been to end the suffering and close this camp too.”
