Syrian asylum seekers challenge move to the Bibby Stockholm migrant barge
- 15 people boarded the migrant barge yesterday - but 20 others refused
- The vessel's previous capacity of 222 has been doubled by using bunk beds
A Syrian asylum seeker was meant to board on August 1, but he has sought a legal intervention due to his age and physical and mental health grounds.
On Monday, 15 people spent their first night on the vessel, docked in Portland Port, but 20 refused to board due to a 'severe fear of water', according to their lawyers.
The Bibby Stockholm migrant barge, docked in Portland Port, England
He was told at the end of July that he would be moved onto the barge from a hotel he had been living in for six months in Bournemouth.
The vessel's previous capacity of 222 has been doubled to 500 by putting bunk beds in its cabins and converting some communal rooms into dormitories for four to six men.
Gimmigrants board the Bibby Stockholm immigration barge on August 8 in Portland Port
Carrying rucksacks and plastic bags as they climb aboard the Bibby Stockholm
The Bibby Stockholm moored in Portland
Meanwhile 20 others have refused to board the Bibby Stockholm due to a 'severe fear of water', according to their lawyers.
Asylum seekers have been warned they must board the barge or have their free accommodation withdrawn.
Some of the asylum seekers didn't board the vessel due to 'mental health concerns', the usual excuse concocted by immigration lawyers.
The legal firm behind the last-minute legal challenges is understood to be London-based Duncan Lewis, which played a key role in scuttling the Government's Rwanda asylum scheme.
Those who refuse to be transferred will be given 24 hours to change their minds before the Home Office withdraws their free, full-board accommodation. In that event, they would be declared homeless.
More asylum seekers are set to arrive on the barge (pictured) over the course of the day
A bus full of migrants arrives at Portland Port in Dorset this morning
The migrants transferred to the barge came from hotels in Oxford, Bristol, Torbay and Bournemouth, as the government's solution to its rocketing £6 million-a-day hotel bill for new arrivals.
It will eventually house 500 men aged 18 to 65 as they wait for their asylum applications to be processed.
Addressing the asylum seekers who were appealing against being moved to the barge, Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson said: 'If they don't like barges then they should f*** off back to France.'
The Justice Secretary said France is a safe country and a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.
'People should claim asylum in the first country - it's not like there should be an open shopping list of where you want to go,' he said.
On the barge they have 'en-suite showers, they're getting three cooked meals a day. Really they're living like kings.'
The number of migrants staying in hotels has hit 50,000, a 25 per cent increase from 40,000 in December.
The enormous three-storey barge is the length of a football pitch and has 222 en-suite bedrooms, a gym and a 24-hour canteen.
All bedrooms have TVs, while free Wi-Fi is available throughout the barge at a speed of 1gb per second.
Those living onboard will take part in activities including cricket, cycling, tending allotments and going on guided hikes in the Dorset countryside.
They will also take part in organised 'cultural events' and get free buses and taxis to enjoy local towns. Buses every hour from 7am to 11pm will ferry men to Weymouth, a nearby seaside resort with a beach, fishing boat fleet and marina.
If they miss the 11pm bus back to the barge, free taxis are available. On top of free food, accommodation and transport, each migrant is given £9.58 a week pocket money.
A government source said: 'Left-wing charities and lawyers are repeatedly trying to stop us from moving illegal migrants out of expensive hotels.'
'Other European countries use barges safely and at lower costs than hotels. Labour needs to quit trying to sabotage our plans to stop the boats. It's time they backed the barge.'
A Portland resident got into a heated debate with the leftist campaigners asking why they were giving help to strangers instead of helping poverty-stricken citizens.
'We need to look after ourselves. We cannot afford them here when we can't even look after our own people.'
Home Office minister Sarah Dines said the vessel - which previously housed oil and gas workers - would provide 'proper accommodation' and that those who arrive in the UK by illegal means 'can't expect to stay in a four-star hotel'.
Looking out over Portland port, where the Bibby Stockholm is moored
Leftists welcome the asylum seekers in Portland, Dorset
Organised criminal gangs and organisations which get people into the country unlawfully tell them ''You will be staying in a very nice hotel in the middle of a town in England''.
Police stand guard as a migrant coach arrives at the front gates by Bibby Stockholm in Portland
Leftists brought bunches of flowers and welcome packs containing toiletries and other useful items to give them to asylum seekers arriving on the barge
A range of meals will be served from the barge's canteen. Food is available 24 hours a day, including breakfast and a three-course lunch and dinner. Some migrants said the food is even better than the food they had at the hotels.
Local residents who are against the barge say they are disgusted with the Government for ignoring their concerns about public safety and the impact the migrants will have on already overstretched local resources.
A view inside the gym onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge
Onboard is a cross-Channel ferry-style canteen serving breakfast and a three-course lunch and dinner, although food will be available 24 hours a day.
In the middle of the barge are two outdoor recreational areas, each about 80ft by 30ft, where there are plans to host 'basketball, netball and volleyball' matches.
There is a classroom for English language lessons, a computer room with free WiFi and a medical room with a nurse, and a GP on call.
The barge at night
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