Migrant barge on way

AN accommodation barge set to house 500 asylum seekers was on the move in the Westcountry at last yesterday, as Parliament prepared for further arguments over Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman’s plans to “stop the boats”.

Plans to house migrants on the huge barge, Bibby Stockholm, in Portland, Dorset, are a month behind schedule, but yesterday the vessel finally left Falmouth, Cornwall, where work on it was being carried out to prepare it for its new role.

The barge’s departure from Falmouth came as MPs prepared for a fresh clash with the House of Lords over the Illegal Migration Bill. Downing Street has defended the use of barges to house migrants, insisting it is a cheaper alternative to housing them in hotels.

Members of the Lords want further concessions in the Bill on limits to the detention of children, modern slavery protections and the provision of safe and legal routes for refugees to the UK.