Portland migrant barge protest held at port

Protestors held banners welcoming refugees

Protestors have held a rally against plans to house 500 migrants on a barge off the Dorset coast.

About 100 demonstrators marched to Portland Port, where the government-commissioned vessel is expected to arrive in June.

The Home Office said the barge would "offer better value for the British taxpayer than expensive hotels". 

However the protest organisers, campaign group Stand Up To Racism, said the government plans were "inhumane".

Five hundred male migrants will be housed on the Bibby Stockholm

The group's joint chair, Lynne Hubbard, said refugees had "suffered enough".

She said: "We would see it as a prison barge designed for 222 people [and] 500 humans are going to be put on that barge. It's inhumane.

"The government should do what it did around Ukrainians. We know there are many, many people who would be happy to host a refugee."

Stand Up To Racism said plans to house 500 migrants in 222 bedrooms were "inhumane"

Her co-chair Grafton Straker agreed with Ms Hubbard and said the migrants should be treated with more respect.

Dorchester resident Julie Croley said people in the area were "scared" of the new arrivals.

She said the government had allowed "166,000 people to arrive in this country and put them wherever they think they can slot them into and not care what the local people think".

The three-storey Bibby Stockholm is currently undergoing inspections and a refit in Falmouth

The barge - Bibby Stockholm - is contracted to be berthed at Portland for 18 months initially.

The Home Office said it was trying to manage pressures on the asylum system in a cost-effective way.

It said: "This is why we will be using alternative accommodation options, such as barges, which are more manageable for communities, as our European neighbours are doing."We are continuing to work extremely closely with Dorset council and key partners including the local NHS and police services to manage any impact in Portland and address the local communities' concerns, including through financial support."

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