A barge docks in England in which Sunak will lock up half a thousand illegal immigrants

the barge ‘Bibby Stockholm’ has docked this Tuesday in Portland, an island in the south of England, to accommodate more than 500 asylum seekers currently in the country or coming to it via the English Channel. The operation, which is a month late, will be completed before the end of July, and its objective is to “put stop trespassing of immigrants to the UK,” according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The residents of the boat three floors and more than 200 cabins will remain for the next 18 months locked in it. During that time, the ‘Bibby Stockholm’ will continue fixedly docked in the port of Portland.

“We will not put the interests of illegal immigrants above those of the British people whom we have been chosen to serve,” said Secretary of State for Immigration, Robert Jenrick, when the project was made public in April. Jenrick stressed that the British Government use “alternative accommodation options” versus “expensive hotels”.

The Government assures that it spends six million pounds sterling a day ―€6.8 million― in paying for the reception in hotels currently for asylum seekers, for which reason he is looking for other saving measures among which also appears the use of disused military bases.

In this sense, he has affirmed that the objective is “prevent the UK from becoming a magnet” for those who take advantage of asylum procedures. “All the accommodations will comply with our legal obligations”, she has clarified.

The ‘Bibby Stockholm’, which has a capacity for 500 people, will be operational for at least 18 months and will remain permanently docked in the port. According to the British Government, it will provide “basic accommodation” to “single adult men while their asylum applications are being processed” and will have medical attention service, catering, as well as security 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Prime Minister’s Government Rishi Sunakhas affirmed that this measure has been carried out within the framework of the migration bill, which seeks to “stop the crossings of the English Channel by putting stop trespassing to the UK and ensuring that those who arrive illegally are quickly removed.”

The main objective of the British Executive is to stop the migratory flow in the English Channel, to which in 2022 more than 45,000 arrivals illegally. At least 44 people died in this area last year.