Asylum seekers to be housed on Dorset barge despite local opposition

The Bibby Stockholm would provide ‘basic and functional accommodation’, the Home Office said. Photograph: Bibby Marine Ltde/PA

The Home Office is on a collision course with a Conservative council and MP, as well as human rights groups, after confirming it will house about 500 asylum seekers on a giant barge off the Dorset coast.

In a statement, the Home Office said the Bibby Stockholm, to be berthed in Dorset’s Portland port, would accommodate single men with “basic and functional accommodation” and healthcare, and would be cheaper than housing them in hotels.