Asylum seeker dies on Bibby Stockholm barge off Portland in Dorset, police confirm

An asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm barge docked in Dorset has died, police have confirmed.

NationalWorld understands that the person committed suicide. Home Secretary James Cleverly told the House of Commons would be investigated fully. Migrants were moved onto the huge barge docked at Portland Harbour earlier in the year, despite warnings from the Fire Brigades Union about safety.

Dorset Police confirmed the death, saying: "At 6.22am on 12 December, Dorset Police received a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm. Officers are conducting inquiries into the circumstances of the incident. The coroner’s office has been notified of the death.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said:  “We are aware of reporting of an incident involving an asylum seeker on the Bibby Stockholm. This is an ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

The Prime Minister's spokesman said he was not aware of the barge being evacuated following the death. He said the Bibby Stockholm has "significant facilities on board" and that asylum seekers on the barge were being "continually monitored". He added that "everyone arriving on the Bibby Stockholm has a medical assessment" and there would "continue to be support to those [on the barge] and in other forms of accommodation".

Ann Salter, from the Freedom from Torture charity, called for the government to stop using barges and army bases which can "retraumatise" refugees. She said: “We’re devastated to hear reports that an asylum seeker has died onboard the Bibby Stockholm. This latest tragedy is yet another reminder that the government’s punitive anti-refugee policies are not only cruel, but they cost lives.

"From the survivors I work with every day, I know that the cramped and dangerous conditions on the Bibby can be profoundly retraumatising for those who’ve survived torture and persecution, in addition to traumatic experiences they’ve suffered en-route to the UK."

While Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, said his charity had been regularly reporting suicidal intentions amongst residents on the boat. He said: “The UK Government must take responsibility for this human tragedy. They have wilfully ignored the trauma they are inflicting on people who are sent to the Bibby Stockholm, and the hundreds being accommodated in former military barracks.

“They are being separated from the rest of society and we have witnessed a serious deterioration of people’s mental health. We have regularly been reporting suicidal intentions amongst residents and no action is taken."

The Bibby Stockholm has been mired by controversy ever since it was first announced. The initial move date for migrants was heavily delayed by safety concerns, local opposition, and legal challenges, and around 20 people initially expected to board the barge were granted a last-minute reprieve following interventions by lawyers.

Charities, experts, and campaigners also frequently spoke out against the use of the vessel, with a spokesperson for Refugee Council telling NationalWorld in August: “We have a responsibility to give people seeking asylum safe and secure accommodation while they are in the UK asylum system.

“However, instead of providing people who have come to our country in search of safety with suitable places to live, the government is placing them in accommodation that is entirely unsuitable to their needs.”

Thirty-nine migrants were moved on to the floating vessel on 7 August, but were evacuated just days later after it emerged that tests on the water supply had detected traces of Legionella - a bacteria which can cause a serious type of pneumonia.

Meanwhile, after their evacuation from the barge, the group of 39 asylum seekers briefly housed there wrote an open letter to Home Secretary Braverman in which they claimed the conditions were so terrible that one attempted to commit suicide.

They described the barge as “terrifying”, “unsafe”, and “a place of exile” - adding that being onboard made them feel like “criminals” and “second class citizens”.

The Fire Brigades Union also slated the Home Office over the barge, with general secretary Ben Selby claiming that he had tried to warn then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman about the health and safety risks prior to the asylum seekers being boarded - but that she had never responded to his request for a meeting.

The Home Office has continually claimed that “the health and welfare of individuals on the [Bibby Stockholm] is [their] utmost priority.”

In a statement on its website, the government explained the use of the barge, writing: “The pressure on the asylum system from small boat arrivals has continued to grow and requires us to look at a range of accommodation options which are more appropriate and offer better value for the taxpayer than expensive hotels.

“The increase in crossings means that around 51,000 destitute migrants are currently being accommodated in hotels - costing the taxpayer in excess of £8 million per day. This is why we will be using alternative accommodation options, such as barges, which are cheaper and more manageable for communities, as our neighbours in Europe are also doing.”

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