The Government of Keir Starmer has decided not to renew the contract and to order the closure in January of the Bibby Stockholm barge, compared by civil liberties groups to a "floating prison" for immigrants in the port of Portland, in southern England. The decision comes days after Starmer's own announcement of the cancellation of the Rwanda plan for the deportation of immigrants.
The Bibby Stockholm barge, currently housing 400 immigrants awaiting asylum applications, was set up last summer by the Government of Rishi Sunak amid great controversy. A fire department report warned of serious safety issues that could have turned it into "a death trap" in case of fire.
Its first 39 residents had to be evacuated a few days later after an outbreak of "legionella," forcing its temporary closure for several weeks. The suicide of an Albanian musician, Leonard Farruku, once again questioned the confinement conditions on the barge.
Nevertheless, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman justified its opening as a deterrent measure and for economic reasons, reducing accommodation costs for thousands of immigrants temporarily housed in over 400 hotels in the UK. Other similar plans to set up up to half a dozen barges in various locations across Britain were canceled due to local resistance.
The decision not to renew the barge's contract will result in an annual savings of around 24 million euros. According to estimates by the Labour government, the failed Rwanda plan to deport immigrants to the African country has cost 830 million euros.
"We are determined to restore order in the asylum system with measures to make it work quickly, firmly, and fairly," declared Border and Asylum Security Undersecretary Angela Eagle. "The Home Department has launched plans to expedite asylum requests (estimated at over 69,000) and save money on accommodation, which is costing taxpayers a high price."