A Daily Mail columnist has fumed at asylum seekers on board the Bibby Stockholm being fed.
Amanda Platell compared the spread on the barge docked in Dover to a cruise holiday buffet, with cereal, toast and jam being provided for resident’s to “eat til their hearts content”.
The first migrants arrived on board the barge this week, with Home Office minister Sarah Dines indicating it could increase rapidly to its capacity of around 500 men.
Much has been said of the humanitarian implications of housing migrants on barges, with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) saying it is a “deathtrap” and others comparing it to modern slave ships.
It has since been revealed that Langham Industries – which owns Portland Port in Dorset, where the Bibby Stockholm is docked – has donated more than £70,000 to UKIP.
Late founder John Langham was described as an “avid supporter” of UKIP in an obituary in 2017. And now, his children – all of whom are directors of the family firm with links to high-profile Tories including Rishi Sunak – are set to profit from an 18-month contract with the Home Office.
Responding to Platell’s tweet, social media users expressed their dismay at how the Mail freely whips up anti-migrant sentiment among the public without consequence.
One person said: “It’s weird your concern for people in food poverty only gets a mention when you want to deride the treatment of migrants.”
While another added: “You should focus your anger on the Tory Govt that has, over 13 long years, created a situation in which one in ten British children don’t have breakfast. What migrants have is irrelevant, if they had no food, British people would still be starving whilst you write your clickbait.”
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