LONDON: Britain on Wednesday said it had leased a barge to house about 500 asylum seekers on England’s south coast as it seeks to reduce lodging costs for migrants arriving on its shores.
The Home Office said that the accommodation barge would be used to cut the unsustainable pressure on Britain’s asylum system and reduce the cost to the taxpayer caused by the considerable increase in Channel crossings.
The barge stationed in Portland Port will accommodate single adult males when their asylum claims are processed, with the first residents coming in the “coming months”.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said that using expensive hotels to keep those making unnecessary and reckless journeys must stop. We will not prefer the interests of illegal migrants over the British citizens we are elected to serve.
UK for alternative options
He added that the government has to use alternative accommodation options, as the European neighbours are doing –- including ferries and barges to save the British taxpayer money and prevent Britain from becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in the continent.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to stop crossings of the Channel, which hit over 45,000 last year.
He unveiled legislation in March to stop migrants illegally making the reckless journey on small boats.
Around 88,000 people have crossed the entry points of one of the world’s busiest waterways since 2018, leading the UK’s asylum system to become overloaded.
