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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Liam Thorp

'A clear attempt to divide us' - furious Metro Mayor slams government's Mersey asylum seeker boat plan

Steve Rotheram ENT Jaguar Land Rover

A furious Steve Rotheram has said that government plans to house 1800 asylum seekers on a boat in the River Mersey as a 'clear attempt to divide' the people of Merseyside at a time when 'our unity has never been more important.'

In a fiercely worded statement, the Liverpool City Region Mayor said news of the proposals to house asylum seekers on a large vessel near Birkenhead - reported by the ECHO this weekend - had 'sent shockwaves across our area.'

The Home Office contacted Wirral Council on Friday to inform them of its plans, which could see a vessel based close to the Wirral Waters regeneration area.

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