London: Following the discovery of legionella bacteria on the vessel, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is coming under increasing pressure to drop the contentious plan to house asylum seekers on a barge, the Guardian reported on Saturday.
As the first asylum seekers boarded the Bibby Stockholm on Monday, which is moored in Portland port, Dorset, ministers expressed concern that contractors were aware of the presence of the bacteria on the vessel.
According to Home Office sources, tests for legionella were done on July 25. On Monday, when the first asylum seekers boarded the barge, lower levels of traces were found.
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The mayor of Portland, Carralyn Parkes, expressed surprise that a daily routine check was not completed right away.
"I am astounded and horrified by this government's incompetence. The Guardian quoted her as saying, "We were told that all of these checks had been completed.
"Portland Town Council has to conduct legionnaires' disease checks on public restrooms, and we do that competently," continued Parkes. Yet the Home Office, which is supposed to assist in managing the nation, has not carried out the bare minimum checks.
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Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, called the lack of adequate checks "extraordinary."
"Evacuating the barge is absolutely necessary, but what a complete and total mess. Government ministers should hang their heads in shame, he said, calling this a "catalogue of catastrophe."
The Home Office received word of the early traces on Wednesday, but six more people were still sent out on the barge the next day, sources told the Guardian.
However, these people were removed later that evening after speaking with the UK Health Security Agency, and everyone else was evacuated on Friday.
Inhaling tiny droplets of water containing the bacteria can cause lung infections and the Legionnaires' disease.
Although it can take up to 16 days for symptoms to manifest, none of the asylum seekers on the barge have tested positive for the illness thus far.
The Guardian was able to obtain a leaked Home Office letter that states that asylum seekers have been told they will be tested if they exhibit symptoms like dry coughs, confusion, or diarrhoea.
The Home Office explained that environmental samples taken from the Bibby Stockholm's water system revealed the presence of legionella bacteria, calling for additional research.
The Guardian was informed by a Home Office spokesperson that asylum seekers' health and welfare continue to be a top priority. As a precaution, all asylum seekers housed on the Bibby Stockholm have now been disembarked and transferred to other accommodations.
"The Home Office and our contractors are following all procedures and recommendations from the Dorset council environmental health team, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Dorset NHS, with whom we are closely collaborating."
The Home Office claimed that there was no health risk to the larger Portland community and that the samples only applied to the barge's water system.
Ben Selby, the assistant general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, claimed that the government had disregarded the union's safety and health concerns.
According to Selby, who spoke to the Guardian, "The Fire Brigades Union warned the home secretary that forcibly holding migrants on this barge was a huge health and safety risk."
"We requested a meeting to discuss these issues in a letter sent to Suella Braverman more than a week ago. To that letter, we have received no response, he said.
Nicola David of the NGO One Life to Live stressed the need for prompt responses from the government, holding ministers ultimately accountable. Her organization's research highlighted the barge's unsuitability for housing asylum seekers.
According to David, there are too many private companies involved in the barge deal and they lack the necessary expertise to house asylum seekers.
Tragically, today's asylum seekers were the last to be made aware of the situation. Suella Braverman was the mother of this child, but she is nowhere to be found when she ought to be explaining what went wrong.
According to reports, the Home Office is looking for alternative housing for the asylum seekers.
