Illegal Migrant Dies Aboard the Bibby Stockholm, in Yet Another Episode on the Controversial Barge Deemed a ‘Death Trap’
Britain’s inner political battle over unchecked mass migration has had a tragic development today, one that’s bound to further complicate Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to deal with the scourge on the UK’s society.
British police and interior minister James Cleverly has revealed that an asylum seeker has died on board a controversial barge housing migrants off the south coast of England.
The person died on the Bibby Stockholm, moored in Portland, Dorset, which can house around 500 people.
Reuters reported:
“’Tragically there has been death on the Bibby Stockholm barge’, Cleverly told parliament. ‘At this stage, I’m uncomfortable getting into any more details, but we will, of course, investigate fully’.
Dorset Police said they had received a report of ‘a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm’ at 0622 GMT on Tuesday. ‘Officers are conducting inquiries into the circumstances of the incident’, police said in a statement.”
There is an element of irony in the situation since Sunak has made the fight against illegal migration one of his key priorities, with the slogan ‘stop the boats’ – and now this vessel has become an endless source of trouble.
The UKI government wants to cut the cost of accommodating illegal migrants in hotels by using barges and former military sites.
The policy has generated a lot of controversy. Human rights groups call the barge a ‘fire trap’, a prison ship – and say its use was inhumane.
“Care4Calais said the government must take responsibility for ‘this human tragedy’, saying housing of migrants in this way had led to a serious deterioration in people’s mental health.
‘We have regularly been reporting suicidal intentions amongst residents and no action is taken’, Steve Smith, the charity’s chief executive, said.”
Associated Press reported:
“Earlier this year the ship had to be evacuated following the discovery of legionella bacteria, which can cause serious illness, in its water supply. About 40 men returned in October to the vessel, which is moored in Portland harbor in Dorset.
The barge, which has capacity to house some 500 people, is part of the British government’s plans to tackle huge costs in housing thousands of asylum-seekers and to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel on unseaworthy small boats to seek a new life in the U.K.
Officials have said alternative accommodation like the Bibby Stockholm brings “better value to taxpayers” than housing them in hotels across the country, which costs millions of pounds a day.”
Activists criticized conditions onboard, saying it was ‘prison-like’, isolating and punishing.
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