The asylum seeker barge which houses 400 migrants and has been dubbed a ‘floating prison’ by charities is set to be closed down next year.
The Bibby Stockholm will be closed in the next few months after the Home Office announced they will no longer need the barge when its contract ends in January.
It is moored in Portland, Dorset, and is one of three major accommodation sites for asylum seekers.
It was first created by the Conservative Government to save money on housing migrats in hotels.
The barge has been slammed by human rights charities, who described the barge as ‘shameful’.
The Joint Council For The Welfare of Immigrants said: ‘The Bibby Stockholm should never have opened in the first place and the government is right to end this shameful practice.
‘People seeking sanctuary should never have been forced onto a floating prison, instead they should be housed in our communities, where they belong.
‘Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen the Rwanda scheme scrapped and now the Bibby Stockholm is set to be closed but this is the bare minimum.’
The first lot of asylum seekers housed were evacuated just days after their arrival, after Legionella bacteria was found on board the boat.
Two other sites, RAF Scampton in Licolnshire and RAF Wethersfield in Essex, are also set to be closed.
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle MP 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 Bibby Stockholm was commissioned in April 2023 but only began housing people in August.
Surrounded by 20ft-high fences, crawling with CCTV and 24/7 security, it has been described as a ‘floating prison’ by campaigners who say it will be overcrowded.
The round-the-clock security presence on the site provided by Isca, consisting of 18 guards trained to military standard taking shifts in groups of six, accompanies CCTV surveillance and back-up from police if needed.
In December, an Albanian asylum seeker killed themselves while housed on the barge.
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