Stop howls of outrage over migrant barge, says Oliver Dowden
Critics of the UK’s first asylum seeker barge must stop their “howls of outrage”, the Deputy Prime Minister has said on the eve of the first asylum seekers being transferred following weeks of delays.
Oliver Dowden defended the plan a day before arrivals currently staying in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms are due to be moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port in Dorset.
He also vowed to “stop Channel migrants before they start” as the Government announced a new partnership with social media giants to crack down on advertisements posted by smugglers.
In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Dowden argued that the Bibby Stockholm, which can house up to 500 asylum seekers, will help to rapidly process arrivals while reducing the cost of hotel stays, which is currently £6 million a day.
He writes: “Barges have been used by other countries, so why not us? Indeed the Bibby Stockholm that is causing the Left-wing activists so much alarm has been used to house migrants safely and securely by the German government before us.
“We did not hear the howls of outrage from them then. This Government has made stopping the boats one of our five priorities because these crossings undermine the values of fairness our society is built on. It is an issue that matters hugely to people in this country.”
The Bibby Stockholm accomodation has received criticism from across the political spectrum.
Richard Drax, the Tory MP for South Dorset, warned that “none of the key questions have been answered” about the barge, which is in his constituency.
Some Labour backbenchers also attacked the “callous” proposals, claiming it is not fit to house 500 people, although Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has refused to rule out using barges to house migrants if the party is elected.
The barge was meant to receive its first 40 asylum seekers on Tuesday but has been beset by delays.
Government sources blamed the need for port staff “working practices” to be signed off by the Health and Safety Executive, which were later revealed to be a lack of hi-vis jackets for workers, as well as the need for vehicles on the quayside to be segregated from staff and migrants.
The Government insisted further delays came from staff having their licences delayed because of the location of the barge.
Meanwhile, the Fire Brigades Union claimed the barge was a potential “death trap”, writing to the Home Office over its members’ concerns about fire risks posed by the narrow corridors and access to emergency exits.
Migrants will be housed in rooms of up to six people, with 222 cabins of long, narrow corridors across three decks. There are only two main exits that lead to a quayside compound, and it is located behind two sets of security gates barring access to the main port.
Ahead of a week of immigration policy announcements aimed to emphasise divisions between the Conservatives and Labour, Mr Dowden also accused Sir Keir Starmer’s party of wanting to “frustrate our efforts at every turn”.
It comes as the Government announced it has joined forces with Meta, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, to accelerate action against criminals who share information about illegal crossings on their platforms.
This can include discount group offers and false claims of safe passage, with some smugglers using emojis in an attempt to avoid filters that block their online adverts.
Rishi Sunak said of the plans: “This new commitment from tech firms will see us redouble our efforts to fight back against these criminals, working together to shut down their vile trade.”
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, added the clampdown would “ensure content promoting dangerous and illegal Channel crossings doesn’t see the light of day”.
“Stopping the boats” is one of the Prime Minister’s five key pledges aimed at winning votes ahead of next year’s general election.
