Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he was personally warned about potential health risks for asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm after bacteria was discovered on the barge.
All 39 asylum seekers were removed from the vessel, which is currently docked in Portland, Dorset, on Friday after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel’s water system.
Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially deadly lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. It is contracted by people breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria.
While the Home Office says none of the migrants on the barge have shown any symptoms of the disease, concerns have been raised over the fact that people spent four days on board the barge after the bacteria was discovered and before they were removed by the Home Office as a “precautionary measure”.
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The discovery has prompted a blame game among officials about who knew what and when.
Dorset Council has said Home Office contractors were notified about the results last Monday – four days before people were moved off the barge – and that a Home Office staff member was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday.
However, a government source previously told Sky News there is no record of this conversation, and claimed the Home Office only received a written notification about the Legionella on Wednesday evening.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said yesterday that ministers were only told about traces of the bacteria on Thursday.
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Asked whether he was personally warned about any health risks, Mr Sunak avoided the question and said: “What has happened here is it is right that we go through all the checks and procedures to ensure the wellbeing and health of the people being housed on the barge.”
The government believes the existence of the barge will serve as a deterrent to those arriving in England via small boats in the Channel.
It is also one of a number of alternative sites the Home Office is using to end reliance on expensive hotels for asylum seekers, which the government says is costing the taxpayer £6m a day.
However, in recent days the scale of the small boats crisis was laid bare after 755 people made the dangerous crossing in one day, taking the cumulative total since records began in 2018 to 100,000.
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It was followed by further tragedy in the Channel after at least six people died after a small boat making its way from France capsized and sank.
A further 11 people made the same crossing again on Monday, the Home Office said today.
Mr Sunak argued that the government was taking a fair approach when it came to tackling the issue, saying: “Taking a step back, what is this about? This is about fairness.
“It is about the unfairness, in fact, of British taxpayers forking out £5m or £6m a day to house illegal migrants in hotels up and down the country, with all the pressure that puts on local communities.
“We’ve got to find alternatives to that, that is what the barge is about and that is why we are committed to it.”
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He went on to argue that the government was taking a fair approach when it came to tackling the small boats crisis, adding: “But taking a step back, what is this about? This is about fairness.
“It is about the unfairness, in fact, of British taxpayers forking out £5m or £6m a day to house illegal migrants in hotels up and down the country, with all the pressure that puts on local communities.
“We’ve got to find alternatives to that, that is what the barge is about and that is why we are committed to it.”
He added: “I know there is a long way to go on this but I’m determined to fix this problem and we are making progress and people can be reassured we will keep at it.”