• Refugees UN condemns UK decision to deny asylum to migrants crossing the English Channel
  • Flows Refugees from the English Channel, in numbers

The British Government will house half a thousand asylum seekers in a floating boat, with 222 cabins available as well as dining rooms and other common areas, which will be moored at the dock of Portland, a remote island on the Jurassic Coast, in southern England. The first batch of migrants will embark in the "coming months" on the sleeping boat Bibby Stockholn, Interior confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

The placement of refugees in alternative accommodation - from ships to converted military installations and disused prisons - is part of the program of the conservative Executive of Rishi Sunak to discourage the arrival of migrants by routes considered illegal, reduce the number of hotel beds for irregulars and decongest the immigration system, which on January 1 accumulated a delay of 132,000 applications awaiting the decision initial of the British authorities.

"We are spending six million pounds a day (about 6.85 million euros) hosting illegal asylum seekers in hotels. That can't be right," Sunak said at a campaign rally for municipal elections, scheduled for early May.

The sleeping boat Bibby Stockholn.BIBBY MARINE

He added that accommodating migrants in "alternative locations, including barges" is part of his plan to "end boats" crossing the English Channel from France and Belgium with refugees on board.

Adult men, without a partner or children, will be installed aboard the Bibby Stockholn, if the Government goes ahead with its controversial plan opposed by councilors, deputies and the communities of the area. Portland is located at the tip of Weymouth, a city of high national tourist attraction, and is on the horizon of several popular beaches and literary claim.

Interior did not disclose the cost of the mooring or the boat, which has chartered in principle for a minimum period of 18 months. We must also add the cost of safety on board, with protection assured 24 hours a day, and health care, as well as food and other minimum services that residents will need.

The sleeping boat Bibby Stockholn.BIBBY MARINE

The Government is in negotiations with other English ports to expand the fleet of sleeper boats available for refugees. Three Royal Air Force (RAF) bases and a former prison have been identified among the centres that will be set up to hold irregular aliens before they are deported from the UK.

  • United Kingdom
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Refugees

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