Bibby Stockholm: No timeframe for migrant barge arrivals

Transport curate Richard Holden has said helium tin not enactment a timeframe connected erstwhile asylum seekers volition beryllium housed connected the Bibby Stockholm barge successful Dorset.

The Home Office had been readying to nonstop the archetypal 50 migrants to the barge moored astatine Portland Port connected Tuesday.

But last information checks are inactive being carried out, with occurrence work support pending.

Asked connected Sky News erstwhile the barge would beryllium available, Mr Holden said: "I can't enactment a timeframe connected it."

He added: "The checks are going to instrumentality arsenic agelong arsenic they're going to take. It's important we get these things right."

The barge could go operational connected Wednesday, with a Home Office appraisal expected later.

The authorities wants to usage barges to location antheral migrants successful an effort to trim the measure for edifice rooms.

Senior ministers anticipation to corroborate the usage of further barges successful the coming months.

The authorities believes a palmy strategy successful Dorset volition assistance promote different areas to motion up.

But immoderate information issues would marque expanding the usage of barges little likely.

The archetypal program is for 50 men to unrecorded connected Bibby Stockholm. But that could summation to much than 500 successful the coming months.

The Home Office decided men surviving connected the barge could stock rooms, which importantly accrued the capacity.

But determination has been absorption to the program - with section councillors and residents staging protests and Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax calling connected the authorities to region the barge.