Bibby Stockholm: Asylum barge not a death trap, minister Grant Shapps says

The Bibby Stockholm is currently moored at Portland Port

A controversial barge that will house hundreds of asylum seekers is not a "death trap", a government minister has said after fresh safety checks delayed its first arrivals.

Cabinet minister Grant Shapps told reporters there was no reason why the barge "wouldn't be absolutely safe".

The comments come after firefighters raised concerns over exits and possible overcrowding on the Bibby Stockholm.

Asylum seekers are now unlikely to move to the vessel until next week.

The barge is a key part of the government's strategy to deter migrants from arriving on Britain's shores in small boats, and ministers say it will help cut the £6m-a-day cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels while claims are processed.

Portland councillors and campaign groups had argued against the barge ahead of its arrival in July

"It certainly won't be a death trap," Mr Shapps said.

"This actual ship was previously used by Germany to house migrants, there's no reason why it wouldn't be absolutely safe.

"Ships are used to transport people all the time and there's no inherent reason why that would be the case. That's actually why these final safety checks are being carried out."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also defended the barge plan and rejected a suggestion it had been a "shambles".

"This is an example of me doing something different that hasn't been tried before to help solve a serious problem," he told LBC.

Final preparations for the arrivals are continuing, with food being delivered earlier

Food deliveries were seen being taken on to the vessel earlier, suggesting final preparations for the arrivals are still going ahead.

Some 50 migrants were expected to arrive on board the vessel - moored at Dorset's Portland Port - on Tuesday, however the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it was writing to the government after its members raised serious concerns about potential overcrowding and access to fire exits.

Ben Selby, the FBU's assistant general secretary, told the Guardian: "As the only professional voice, firefighters believe the Bibby Stockholm to be a potential death trap."

• On board the giant barge set to house asylum seekers

• Why is asylum housing plan so controversial?

• Watch: The asylum barge Bibby Stockholm explained... in 60 seconds

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Selby added that the union's main concern was the plans to house 500 people on a barge designed to accommodate about 200.

"That then raises significant fire safety concerns for us, and also concerns that, if a fire was to break out on the Bibby, could firefighters make the adequate rescues and access where necessary," he said.

"By increasing that occupancy, then we would expect certain measures and assessments to be made to ensure that those that were being accommodated there were safe, and that firefighters - if and when they were needed to make access to the Bibby - they were also safe, or as safe as they could be in doing so when attempting to rescue people."

Government sources have suggested the FBU's complaints are politically motivated.

A Home Office source said late representation from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to check working practices for port staff was the reason for the latest delay - and not fire safety concerns.

The HSE said it had raised concerns about hi-vis clothing and separating pedestrians from vehicles, but saw no reason for its recommendations to cause the hold-up.

Transport minister Richard Holden said on Tuesday he could not put a timeframe on when the asylum seekers would start arriving.

The 222-bedroom, three-storey vessel will house about 500 migrants

Groups supporting the asylum seekers, some of whom are staying at hotels in Bournemouth while they wait to be moved, have called on the government to scrap the barge plan altogether.

Enver Solomon, chief Executive of the Refugee Council, said there was no link between making the asylum system "harder" and "stopping people wanting to come here".

"The reason the government is having to use this barge - and it is absolutely the wrong plan in the wrong place - is because it has grossly mismanaged the asylum system," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There is a backlog of 150,000 cases and if there wasn't that backlog the government wouldn't have to use ships."

Tony Smith, former director general of UK Border Force, told the BBC: "The bigger problem for me is the lack of returns or removals.

"We are not really returning very many people at all so they know that if they run into a smuggler on the beaches in France they know they are going to be told 'give us 5,000 euros' and you know once you are across, Bob's your uncle - you are home and dry.

"So really we do need to get removals going."

The rooms on the barge were first converted to house asylum seekers in Germany in the 1990s

Reporters were invited to look inside the barge last month, with pictures showing a TV room with a big screen and sofas, a multi-faith prayer room and a classroom that can be used for meetings and activities.

There is a gym and outdoor recreational space in the two courtyards in the centre of the barge.

The men will also have access to the dockside, within a fenced off area, and they will be provided with 24-hour security and healthcare provision.

A Home Office spokesman said on Wednesday evening the Bibby Stockholm would "adhere to all relevant health and safety standards".

He added: "We continue to work closely with Dorset and Portland councils, as well as the local NHS and police services, to manage any impact in Portland, including providing substantial funding to local services, to address the local community's concerns."