MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Legionella forces the removal of UK asylum seekers from Bibby Stockholm barge

UK government is planning to move more asylum seekers onto the large grey, three-storey barge that can hold some 500 people in 200 bedrooms.

Frustration for 10 Downing Street migrant policy. The United Kingdom was forced to remove migrants from the barge where they were being held after Legionella bacteria was found in the water supply, the government said on Friday.

Some 39 people had been housed on the large Bibby Stockholm barge on the southern coast of the UK in a move that human rights campaigners had already called inhumane.

Ministers said the barge was basic accommodation that reduced costs in comparison to other land-based accommodation options which they characterized as a luxury.

The dangerous bacteria were found just days after the individuals were moved onto the vessel.

“Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm [barge] have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation,” a spokesperson at the Home Office, or interior ministry, said.

“As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.”

Legionella can cause Legionnaires' disease which the UK health service described as uncommon, but “very serious.”

“No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires' [disease], and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support,” the Home Office said.

The government is planning to move even more asylum seekers onto the large grey, three-storey barge that can hold some 500 people in 200 bedrooms.

The plan to place people fleeing war and persecution in the cramped conditions of the Bibby Stockholm has drawn widespread criticism and has run into several delays.

It comes at the same time as UK intends to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a plan that has also hit numerous roadblocks and sparked anger and derision.

The ruling Conservative Party, which has shifted to the right in recent years, is gearing up for a general election that is expected to take place next year.