The Government on Monday insisted that it evacuated the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge as soon as ministers were “notified” that traces of potentially deadly Legionella bacteria had been detected.
All 39 asylum claimants who had been moved on to the vessel off Portland last week had to be relocated on Friday, deepening the controversy about the Government’s asylum policy a day before six people died when their vessel sank off France.
Senior Conservative backbencher David Davis said the “startling incompetence” of the Home Office had been laid bare, while former party chairman Sir Jake Berry described the barge removals as “farcical”.
Dorset Council said it informed the contractors operating the barge, CTM and Landry & Kling, on Monday about the presence of the bacteria, and that it told a Home Office official on Tuesday.
However, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “As soon as ministers were notified on Thursday night, there were some concerns with that, they took instant action.” He said it was possible a Home Office official was told earlier, “that is an issue for those in the Home Office to respond to”.
Nobody aboard the barge had fallen ill, Mr Barclay stressed on Sky News.
“My understanding is that no-one has. So there has been no concerns in terms of anyone that has been on the barge and all those people are being subject to health assessments.”
Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially fatal lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. It is contracted by breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria.
Mr Barclay said he wanted the barge back in action. “Yes I do, because it is costing £6 million a day in terms of the cost of hotels. It is important that we both maintain safety standards but also reflect the pressure on the taxpayer position in terms of that £6 million.”
He defended the Government’s asylum policy more widely after the drownings, which he called “shocking”, and after 509 more people crossed the Channel in 10 boats on Saturday — more than the entire 500-person capacity of the Bibby Stockholm.
The six victims — all believed to be Afghan males — were aboard a dangerously overloaded boat carrying about 65 people which sank in the early hours of Saturday. Another five were taken to hospital in Kent after a rescue operation by British and French vessels.
“We are making progress,” the minister said, citing a returns agreement with Albania and arguing that the Government’s Rwanda deportation plan would have a “significant deterrent effect” if it was upheld by the Supreme Court.
But Mr Barclay refused to comment on a leaked memo saying the Government thinks the migrant crisis could last five more years, and blamed Labour for exacerbating it by opposing action.
