Bibby Stockholm: Sunak committed to housing asylum seekers on barge

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said his authorities is inactive "committed" to utilizing the Bibby Stockholm barge to location asylum seekers.

Last week, 39 asylum seekers were taken disconnected the barge aft Legionella bacteria was recovered successful the on-board h2o system.

Mr Sunak said it was "right" to "go done each the checks" earlier asylum seekers were accommodated connected the barge.

The barge is seen arsenic a cheaper enactment to hotels for asylum seekers waiting the result of their claims.

The authorities yet plans to location up to 500 men aged 18-65 connected the vas moored successful Portland Port, Dorset.

But it lies bare for the clip being, portion the Home Office awaits the results of further tests for the Legionella bacteria, which tin origin a benignant of pneumonia.

In his archetypal interrogation since returning from a summertime vacation successful the United States, Mr Sunak was asked whether helium was personally warned astir imaginable wellness risks for asylum seekers connected committee the Bibby Stockholm.

In response, helium said; "No, look, what's happened present is that it's close that we spell done each the checks and procedures to guarantee the wellness and wellbeing of the radical who are being housed connected the barge."

He said it was unfair to expect taxpayers to screen the costs of lodging asylum seekers successful hotels crossed the UK.

"We've got to find alternatives to that, that's what the barge is about, that's wherefore we're committed to it," Mr Sunak said.

The authorities says it is presently spending £6m per time lodging much than 50,000 migrants successful hotels.

The Home Office says that by the autumn, they purpose to location astir 3,000 asylum seekers successful places that are not hotels - specified arsenic the barge, and erstwhile subject sites Wethersfield, successful Essex, and Scampton, successful Lincolnshire.

But the government's efforts to usage these barges and sites person been hampered by ineligible challenges, section absorption and logistical issues.

Asylum applications person accrued successful the past mates of years, with the backlog of cases rising to much than 172,000 people, according to the latest Home Office figures.

Earlier, Health Minister Will Quince said asylum seekers could instrumentality to the Bibby Stockholm barge wrong days.

But helium said the asylum seekers would lone instrumentality to the barge if it was harmless to bash so, insisting "public wellness and information is ever our paramount concern".

The accomplishment of radical connected tiny boats crossing the English Channel has been putting unit connected the asylum system.

More than 100,000 migrants person made the perilous travel crossed the Channel successful tiny boats successful the past 5 years, and much than 500 arrived connected Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail and The Times reported that the European Commission has ruled retired a woody that would let migrants to beryllium returned to EU countries.

Mr Sunak has pushed for a bilateral returns statement with France, but President Emmanuel Macron believes immoderate woody indispensable beryllium astatine an EU level.

A leaked memo reported by the 2 newspapers suggests specified a pact is not being entertained by the EU, which is dealing with its ain interior rows implicit migration and exile returns reforms.

The Daily Mail says it has seen an interior British authorities memo which describes the result of the gathering betwixt National Security Adviser Sir Tim Barrow and Bjoern Seibert - the caput of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's cabinet.

The insubstantial reported that the memo said Mr Seibert "stressed that the Commission is not unfastened to a UK-EU readmissions agreement".

But a European Commission spokesperson told the BBC the reports successful the Times and Telegraph were "not correct".

Mr Seibert "never made specified a statement", the spokesperson said.

The UK authorities said it "remains open" to moving towards a UK-EU returns accord.