A deadly bacteria outbreak has forced all migrants off the Bibby Stockholm barge after just four days. The Government’s immigration plans have descended further into chaos as Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water supply.
The Home Office confirmed it is removing all 39 asylum seekers who have been put on the vessel, docked in Portland Port in Dorset, as a “precautionary measure”. Officials said no one had fallen sick or developed Legionnaires’ disease, which is a potentially deadly type of pneumonia.
The emergency evacuation came after Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick on Wednesday dismissed health and safety concerns as he insisted the barge was “perfectly decent accommodation”. Campaigners have demanded that ministers scrap the use of the vessel once and for all.
The Mirror understands the Home Office was informed about the discovery of Legionella on Wednesday evening, but continued to move six further asylum seekers onto the barge on Thursday. Following advice from the UK Health Security Agency these six people were taken off that evening, before everyone was removed on Friday.
Ministers had planned a swathe of announcements this week to show they are trying to fix the broken immigration system on what they had dubbed “Stop The Boats Week”, but it has turned into farce. The Government was forced to drop a daft idea to send migrants 4,000 miles away to Ascension Island just hours after it was announced. Conservative Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson provoked outrage when he told asylum seekers to “f*** off back to France”, before later admitting the Government had “failed” to tackle illegal immigration. A £400,000 Home Office drone used to monitor boats in the Channel crashed into the sea.
Now environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation. It is believed the bacteria has come from the pipes on the vessel, as points of entry to the vessel have shown no indication of legionella. Legionella bacteria, which is naturally found in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams, can cause a serious type of lung infection called Legionnaires’ disease. You can get it from inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. None of those on the barge have shown signs of having the disease.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last night advised the Home Office to remove the six asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel yesterday. As a further temporary precaution to reduce the health risk as much as possible, the Home Office will remove all 39 asylum seekers from the vessel to other asylum accommodation. The department is now awaiting the results of follow up tests which have been carried out on the water system by Dorset Council Environmental Health officers. UKHSA will provide additional advice following receipt of further test results.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Across the country, most people want strong border security and a properly managed and controlled asylum system so the UK does its bit alongside other countries to help those who have fled persecution and conflict, while those who have no right to be here are swiftly returned. Under this government, we have neither as gangs are undermining our border security and the asylum system is in chaos. The Conservatives have slogans and gimmicks, but no real solutions and no grip – and even their campaign weeks disintegrate into total chaos.”
The charity’s Kolbassia Haoussou said: “The presence of life-threatening bacteria onboard the Bibby Stockholm is just another shocking revelation that we’ve seen unfold over the past few weeks. This Government’s punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system is not just cruel, it’s dangerous. This Government urgently needs to stop forcing refugees into unsafe and undignified accommodation, and instead focus their efforts on rebuilding a compassionate and efficient system that protects people like me who have fled torture and persecution.”
Care4Calais said ministers “should now realise” that keeping refugees on barges was “untenable” after asylum seekers were removed from the Bibby Stockholm following the discovery of levels of Legionella bacteria in the water system onboard.
Steve Smith, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified, and this latest mismanagement proves our point. The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this Government’s hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain’s asylum system.
“The Government should now realise warehousing refugees in this manner is completely untenable, and should focus on the real job at hand — processing the asylum claims swiftly, so refugees may become contributing members of our communities as they so strongly wish.”
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Ben Selby said: “The Fire Brigades Union warned the Home Secretary that forcibly holding migrants on this barge was a huge health and safety risk. We wrote to Suella Braverman more than a week ago to demand a meeting to discuss these issues. We have had no response that letter, and our fire safety and operational safety concerns remain.
“It remains our professional view that it’s a potential death trap and an accident waiting to happen. However, Suella Braverman and her ministerial colleagues are hellbent on confining vulnerable people in jail-like conditions on what is effectively a prison ship. This outbreak of Legionella suggests that it’s only a matter of time before either lives are lost or there is serious harm to a detainee.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority. Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation.
“Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long-established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to. As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.
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