Britain’s new Labour government announced on Tuesday the closure of the Bibby Stockholm, the controversial barge moored in Portland, in the south of England, that housed asylum seekers awaiting the processing of their applications. The project, promoted by the previous Conservative administration and met with strong local opposition and human rights groups who called it a floating prison, will see the contract with the barge operators not renewed and the nearly 400 residents moved out before January 2025.
The Bibby Stockhom’s arrival at the Portland port sparked protests from the outset. The government under former prime minister Rishi Sunak was forced to remove the vessel in mid-August, just days after the first residents arrived, after a Legionella bacteria was found in the internal water circuits. A few months later the interior ministry confirmed the death of Leonard Farruku, a 27 year old Albanian, reportedly by suicide in one of the barge showers. Critics of the asylum system, including volunteers and human rights groups, argued that living conditions on board worsened the mental health of those on board.
Care4Calais chief executive Steve Smith commented after the decision was announced that the suffering caused by the barge would be remembered by those who lived there. He added that not renewing the contract would not bring Leonard Farruku back, a loss for his family. Yet major refugee advocacy organisations welcomed the move as a crucial step toward reforming an asylum system that many describe as costly, chaotic and dysfunctional.
Plan for Rwanda
The decision also coincides with the ending of the Rwanda deportation plan announced after Labour’s election victory. The policy has cost more than 800 million euros, yet only four asylum seekers have been relocated to Rwanda, all voluntarily. Interior Minister Yvette Cooper described the plan as a costly fraud and pointed out that it would have cost nearly 12 billion euros over six years. She highlighted that the previous government should bear responsibility for the failure of the policy.
The scrapping of the Rwanda plan and the closing of the Bibby Stockholm fit into Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s stated aim to save more than 8 billion euros in asylum-related spending over the next decade. The government wants to speed up the processing of around 100,000 asylum applications that still await an initial response. Interior ministry figures, published earlier this year, show that housing asylum seekers in hotels and other facilities will exceed 3 billion euros in 2024.
Crackdown on Smuggling Networks
The government reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen cooperation with European partners to disrupt organized human trafficking networks. A Border Security Command will be created, drawing on existing police and intelligence service personnel. Starmer also expressed intent to pursue bilateral agreements with safe countries such as India, Turkey and Vietnam to return irregular migrants swiftly. In tandem, the government will provide financial aid to nations in Africa and the Middle East to support education, employment opportunities and humanitarian aid in the countries of origin, with an initial package around 100 million euros.