Ministers hope to move asylum seekers on to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge on Monday despite warnings in an internal health document that many could be infected if there was an outbreak of a disease such as diphtheria on board.
A draft “outbreak management plan” for the barge was released after a freedom of information request to NHS Dorset. The plan warns: “accommodation providers should be aware that in the event of a significant outbreak large numbers of staff as well as residents may be impacted. Contingency plans for surge staffing to maintain minimum numbers should be in place.”
Last year a man who was being held at the Manston camp for small boat arrivals in Kent died after being infected with diphtheria.
Lawyers acting on behalf of asylum seekers due to be moved to the barge on Monday continued to submit last-minute legal challenges on Sunday, arguing that it was not a safe place to house people.
The outbreak management plan has been drawn up by the Home Office contractors for Bibby Stockholm, Landry & Kling and Global Ship Solutions, and passed to NHS Dorset. NHS Dorset shared the most recent draft of the plan in its FoI response but added: “Please note that there is not currently a finalised copy of this.”
Outbreak management plans are drawn up in a number of settings where there are groups of people in close quarters – such as healthcare and education – to prevent the spread of an infectious disease.
The draft plan highlights a number of infectious diseases and conditions that may arise on Bibby Stockholm including diphtheria, TB, legionnaires’ disease, norovirus, salmonella and scabies.
Ministers are reportedly also working on a “plan B” to the controversial Rwanda policy, which has been beset by legal difficulties for over a year.
According to various newspaper reports, proposals to use overseas territories have been resurrected, with Ascension Island – a volcanic island in the middle of the south Atlantic – being considered.
The immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, said on Sunday that the first asylum seekers were due to move on to the Bibby Stockholm barge “in the coming days”, after a series of delays. Some asylum seekers have been told they will be moving on to the barge on Monday and 50 asylum seekers are expected to be moved there during the week.
“We hope that the first migrants will go on to the boat in the coming days, I’m not going to give you an exact date – but very soon,” Jenrick told Sky News.
“For security reasons, we prefer not to give the dates on which individuals arrive. You won’t have long to wait. This is an important step forwards.”
Toufique Hossain of Duncan Lewis solicitors said: “We have alerted the Home Office that the proposed relocation of our clients to the Bibby Stockholm would be unlawful on a series of legal grounds.
“The most urgent of those relate to the safety of the barge, including fire hazards. Our clients must be housed safely and adequately: they cannot be compelled to relocate to a firetrap.”
The shadow immigration minister, Stephen Kinnock, confirmed to Sky News on Sunday that Labour would also use barges to accommodate asylum seekers.
Kinnock said the idea made him “deeply unhappy” as it was the last thing the party wanted to do. But he said Labour would have “no choice but to deal with the mess we inherit”.
He indicated the party could rely on the controversial sites, which would include Bibby Stockholm, for a period of about six months. But that “very short-term period” was still too much for some Labour MPs who felt uneasy about using such sites at all, asking if Labour was “trying to out-Tory the Tories”.
Sources close to the party’s immigration policy insisted the huge dividing line between a Labour government and a Conservative government was Labour’s plans to scrap the “unworkable unaffordable and unethical Rwanda scheme”.
Concerns have been expressed by the Fire Brigades Union that the barge will be a “potential death trap” when asylum seekers are accommodated on it. Along with concerns about fire safety and infection control there are also concerns about the vocal presence of far-right and racist organisations in the area. The BBC reported that police were investigating some threats believed to be from the far right to local people.
Social media posts show threats to try to sink the barge with asylum seekers on it and to blow it up. Many local residents told the Guardian they were scared for their names to be published for fear of far-right reprisals against them.
A Home Office spokesperson said of the far-right threat: “The welfare of asylum seekers in our care is of the upmost importance and continue to work closely with the local police and our partners on-the-ground to ensure the safety of any individuals housed on the site and the wider community. A specialist and experienced security team will be working on site 24/7.”
On the risk of infectious diseases, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The Bibby Stockholm … will comply with all appropriate regulations including all relevant health and safety standards with protocols in place to respond to any health risks.”
