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ASYLUM-SEEKERS could be back on the Bibby Stockholm barge in days after a health minister today described the discovery of Legionella in its water supply as a “teething issue.”
The Tories were branded “contemptible” after Will Quince played down the dangers of the potentially fatal bacteria.
Asylum-seekers had spent four days on the Bibby Stockholm before it was evacuated on Friday after it emerged tests had revealed Legionella.
Mr Quince told LBC Radio: “Of course public health and safety is key, but we hope in the next few days we will be able to start getting people onto the Bibby Stockholm.
“It is absolutely the right thing to do but public health and safety is always our paramount concern.”
On TalkTV, he added that ministers remain committed to the plan to use the barge, moored in Portland Port, Dorset, and other vessels like it.
“I think with Bibby Stockholm there was certainly a teething issue there,” he said.
“But we are absolutely determined to stick to the plan because we know that deterrence is working.”
Freedom from Torture associate director of advocacy Natasha Tsangarides told the Morning Star: “Calling life-threatening bacteria a ‘teething issue’ shows just how contemptible this government really are.
“Forcing refugees to move back onto the Bibby Stockholm after what we’ve seen unfold over the last few weeks is unacceptable.
“The government’s punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system is not just cruel, it’s dangerous.”
She urged ministers “to stop forcing refugees into unsafe and undignified accommodation,” adding: “It’s time that they focus their efforts on rebuilding a compassionate and efficient system that protects people who’ve fled torture, war and persecution.”
Mr Quince also defended the government’s efforts to forge international deals on tackling the migrant crisis after reports that the European Union has told Britain it is not willing to negotiate an agreement to return people who arrive on small boats.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said any deal must be at an EU level, with a leaked memo now suggesting such a pact is not being entertained by Brussels.
A government spokeswoman said: “We remain open to working with the EU to take forward negotiations on a UK-EU returns deal, as part of our international efforts to tackle illegal migration and to crack down on these exploitative gangs.”
