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The government’s dreadful immigration policy is falling apart at the seams. Somehow, the Bibby Stockholm fiasco has got even worse, after it was revealed that Home Office officials sent more asylum seekers onto the barge, even when they became aware of the presence of Legionella.
According to government sources, the Home Office were first made aware of Legionella bacteria in the water on Wednesday. However, they still sent a further SIX refugees onto the boat the following day – and it was only on Thursday evening when decisive action was taken.
The Home Office has said it is removing all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel, docked in Portland Port in Dorset, this week as a “precautionary measure”. It also stated that no migrants have fallen sick or developed Legionnaires’ Disease so far.
Legionella can cause a serious type of pneumonia, and symptoms can take up to 16 days to show-up. The government is adamant, though, that all evacuees are being provided with “the appropriate advice and support”. But critics remain furious.
Labour MPs have been lining up to denigrate the Conservative’s ill-fated barge plan. Stephen Kinnock has written to Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, asking him to clarify why more asylum seekers were sent onto the barge after the discovery of Legionella was made.
“The government has very serious questions to answer on this, particularly around how much they knew about the risk or actual presence of Legionella when they chose to press ahead with sending the asylum-seekers on to the barge.” | Stephen Kinnock
Stella Creasy has also lashed out at the Tories, saying that they ‘should not be trusted to run anything on behalf of the public’:
“The government treat refugees in the way they would treat all citizens if they could get away with it – no one can trust this lot to run anything in the publics interest, only with an eye to the bottom line or a cheap headline.” | Stella Creasy
