A plan for a barge in the Liverpool area to house asylum seekers has been dropped by the Home Office. It's understood that the port operator said such a proposal could not be supported locally.
Peel Ports Group, operator of The Port of Liverpool, said it could “not see any conceivable scenario” in which public services would be “able to provide the necessary support” for refugee accommodation in the Birkenhead area. The PA news agency understands the Home Office, following the response by Peel Ports and other agencies, is no longer considering using the site as a potential location.
Mick Whitley, Labour MP for Birkenhead, told the Commons last month that Wirral Council had been informed in April by Home Office officials of proposals to accommodate up to 1,500 asylum seekers on a vessel berthed in the vicinity of Wirral Waters, a £4.5 million regeneration development in his constituency. Raising the “great consternation” locally to the plans, Mr Whitley said it would effectively be a “floating prison ship” — a description the Home Office rejects.
