Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, has said that the Bibby Stockholm – the barge now docked at Portland Harbour - ‘cannot be deemed safe as no risk assessment can be provided’. In a letter to the Home Secretary and Baroness Vere (the Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastguard Agency), the local MP requested that either the Bibby Stockholm is stopped, or that the necessary risk assessments are provided.
Mr Loder outlined his fundamental concerns relating to overcapacity of the barge, which was designed for 250 people – not for 500 people, which is the number migrants the Home Office intend to house on the Bibby Stockholm. It follows a call that Mr Loder had with the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) yesterday, in which it became clear that the MCA has not undertaken the relevant risk assessments for accommodation.
Mr Loder has therefore called for ‘urgent attention’ from both the Home Secretary and Baroness Vere.
