An asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm today said ‘hope had returned’ after Sir Keir Starmer‘s government revealed it will be closing the controversial barge.
The Home Office announced on Tuesday that the three-storey vessel, which has been moored off Portland since July 2023 and currently houses around 400 people, will be empty by January.
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle claimed it would no longer be necessary to keep the barge open because of reduced demand due to efforts to clear the asylum backlog – and said the move would save £20 million a year.
One man on board, a 26-year-old Yemeni, celebrated the decision and said he wanted to fulfill his dream of working in British cybersecurity. He told MailOnline: ‘That was the moment hope returned to everyone.
‘The people who have been here for eight months will be moved off the Bibby for their interviews and they say they will see to everyone else as quickly as they can. I am excited about the future as I hope that I will be granted asylum so I can work in cybersecurity.’
The Home Office announced on Tuesday that the three-storey vessel, which has been moored off Portland since July 2023 and currently houses around 400 people, will be empty by January
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle claimed it would no longer be necessary to keep the barge open because of reduced demand due to efforts to clear the asylum backlog – and said the move would save £20 million a year
The man, who goes by the name Smith, arrived in Britain in July 2023.
He was born and raised in Saudi Arabia but feared he would be deported to war-torn Yemen.
Smith, who did a cybersecurity Masters in Malaysia before finding himself with nowhere to go, initially stayed in a London hostel.
He was transferred on to the Bibby Stockholm in April and told he would receive an asylum interview within 90 days.
However, this did not happen and he feared a long stay on the barge, where he complained of struggling to sleep on due to it shaking in the water.
‘I thought ”ok, they say it will be for 90 days while I wait for the decision”, but it never came,’ he said.
‘When you are on board you can’t do anything as a normal human – you have to queue for everything and you can’t go out as you like. The barge shakes at night and people can not sleep.’
Asylum seekers who have been on board the barge for eight months will be taken off immediately for interviews, while everyone else will have their claims processed as quickly as possible.
‘People had lost hope,’ Smith continued. ‘It was so sad and terrible to see the people who had been here longer and how it was getting them down.
‘But on Tuesday we had the meeting and were told that the Bibby was closing and they would speed up our interviews.’
Suella Braverman, the Tory former home secretary, accused Labour of signalling that Britain is ‘open for illegal migrants’ and ‘flashing the green light to the people smugglers’ after announcing it was closing the Bibby Stockholm.
But some campaigners have called for it to be scrapped sooner due to what they claim are ‘unbearable’ conditions on board that have been compared to a prison.
Others wish for it to be shut now as they are alarmed as there are ‘so many young men walking around at night’.
Kate Robson, from the Portland-based campaign group Say No To The Barge, said: ‘I am absolutely ecstatic that it’s going. It has been the most divisive thing imaginable.
‘I have a young daughter and not having so many men walking around at night will be a relief. I am sure that 95% of them are fine. It just creates unwarranted concern.
‘It is nothing to do with who they are, it is just the number of them.’
Some campaigners have called for it to be scrapped sooner due to what they claim are ‘unbearable’ conditions on board that have been compared to a prison
Sir Keir Starmer – pictured yesterday – has made tackling the asylum backlog one of his government’s key priorities
The barge has a capacity of 500 and concerns remain about where the Labour government will house the asylum seekers once they have left the vessel.
Ms Robson added: ‘I certainly didn’t vote for Labour and they do seem a very inexperienced government. At the moment the maths just doesn’t add up.
‘It is so difficult to find accommodation at the moment. There just isn’t space to house everyone and the rental market is so tough.
‘Everything is at breaking point in the country right now.’
The former Mayor of Portland, Carralyn Parkes, said: ‘I am really pleased that the contract is not to be renewed.
‘I am disappointed that action isn’t being taken sooner. Six months is not an insignificant amount of time in these people’s lives.
‘It is one of the most deranged and inhumane ways to store asylum seekers ever created.
‘They come from all over the place and have come to our country to ask for our help and they all have a claim to live here. They looked at Britain as a beacon of humanity.’
There have been mixed reports about what conditions are like on the barge.
Christine James, who was a local councillor for 20 years and works as a driving instructor, visited the barge at the start of 2023, before any asylum seekers arrived.
She compared the facilities on board to a Travelodge and said criticism of the conditions was misplaced.
She said: ‘They have to share a bunk bed but the room is only a little bit smaller than a room in a Travelodge.
‘It was good enough for our troops. There is a roof over their heads and they get three meals a day. All the things about it being a prison are rubbish. It is not a cruise ship though.
‘They have a big TV, a couch for them to sit on, a classroom, a prayer room, they get given a laundry bag to take to the laundry room. They get a breakfast of fruit, fruit juices and cereal. Three meals a day, and not just microwave food.
‘They had a big dining area which was spotless. There is a bus every hour. I am teaching some of them to drive. We know they are coming here and getting a lot more than British taxpayers are getting.
‘All these things are being given to them when we keep being told that we are in a cost of living crisis.’
The barge is home to asylum seekers from around the world, with residents saying they have spoken to men from Afghanistan, Iraq, Trinidad and Tobago and more.
Locals had vastly different accounts of their encounters with asylum seekers living on the Bibby Stockholm.
The year to date has been the busiest for crossings so far, with 14,759 migrants arriving between January 1 and July 16 – the most recent date for which figures are available. This compares to 14,622 in 2022, the second busiest year
One person said she had seen them happily minding their own business doing barbecues and playing cricket on the beach.
However, another resident claimed they had been ‘chased up the alleyway’ by a migrant who showed an interest in them.
One campaign organisation, Portland Global Friendship Group, called for the number of migrants on board the Bibby to be reduced to make it ‘more bearable’.
Announcing the plan to close the Bibby Stockholm, 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.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said decisions on asylum claims will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
He said: ‘We’ve made clear that the barge will continue to be used until the end of the contract in January 2025, but our intention is to clear the backlog and reduce the huge costs we’re currently spending on asylum accommodation.’
Downing Street did not rule out the option of moving migrants from the Bibby Stockholm into hotels.
The first few dozen asylum seekers had only been on board the barge for a short while when they were evacuated and moved into hotel accommodation nearby after the deadly legionella bacteria was discovered on the ship.
And Leonard Farruku, a 27-year-old Albanian, is thought to have hanged himself in his shared bathroom in December last year.
Scores of men on board went on a temporary hunger strike to protest being stuck in limbo due to the length of time it took to process their asylum claims.
