Dorset is an ‘unsuitable place’ to house asylum seekers on a floating barge, local police and detective inspector warn, urging the government to provide ‘additional funds’ to fund its latest migrant shenanigans.
David Sidwick, Dorset Police and Forensic Inspector, told me: I that he wrote to Home Secretary Suella Braverman expressing his “reservations” about the plans.
Ms Braverman confirmed yesterday that about 500 single asylum seekers will be placed in the shelter. Bibby Stockholm The barge is “in the coming months” as part of a government effort to end the use of expensive hotels to house migrants.
The Home Office said the floating barge in Portland Harbor would be used “to ease unsustainable pressure on Britain’s asylum system and reduce taxpayer costs caused by a massive increase in flights between countries.”
The ship, operated by Liverpool-based Bibby Marine, was previously used by the Netherlands to house around 500 asylum seekers in the early 2000s when it was criticized as a “despotic environment”.
Ms Braverman said yesterday that it has now been refurbished to provide “functional housing, medical care, catering facilities and 24-hour security” for the roughly 500 migrants who will arrive on board later this year.
However, Mr Sidwick said he expressed serious concern to the home secretary about the lack of local resources to deal with the influx of migrants, which would place a “significant” strain on overburdened local police.
“While there is now some clarity about the plans for placing the ship in Portland harbor, I have reservations,” he said. I.
“Responsibility for any necessary policing will inevitably fall on the Dorset Police. Dorset remains the second poorest power in the country. We have a significant increase this summer as over a million additional people come to Dorset for whom we are not getting any extra money.
“This plan could lead to another significant increase in demand at a time when forces are already under significant pressure.”
Mr Sidwick said taxpayer money for local police “should be used for patrolling Dorset and not for unplanned national initiatives” and that “additional resources” are needed to oversee the government’s new flagship asylum scheme.
The local police and crime commissioner also raised concerns about the potential security implications of accepting 500 single male migrants into the rural community.
Asylum seekers living in a three-story barge will no doubt be allowed into the local community, but they will have to take a bus to leave Portland’s heavily guarded port.
Mr Sidwick said he asked Ms Braverman to “reassure” she would make sure asylum seekers were on board. Bibby Stockholm subject to strict control.
He drew attention to the recent murder of Thomas Roberts, who was killed by asylum seeker Lawanjin Abdulrahimzai in Dorset last year while he was hiding abroad from two murder charges.
“I think Portland is not the right place for this initiative, but it was definitely planned at the wrong time without additional resources,” he said. I. “It is very clear to me that I am here for the people of Dorset and their needs first and foremost and that they must not be compromised.”
It comes after local Conservative MP Richard Drax I he considered challenging the alderman’s plans after the Home Secretary chose his constituency “without consultation”.
Mr Drax said Ms Braverman called him “out of the blue” last week to inform him of the plans and did not understand concerns about the influx of migrants to the seaside city.
“The message that was delivered was: it is coming. We have no choice,” he said. “As far as I know, negotiations with the administration of the private port have been underway for some time. But no one was consulted. It was literally behind closed doors.”
Other senior Conservative MPs, who wished to remain anonymous, said I that the Home Secretary “kept them in the dark” about plans to accept asylum seekers in their constituencies, and that they received further clarification from her predecessor Priti Patel.
The Conservative MP said: “Preity was a lot more helpful than Swella, who just doesn’t seem to understand the details.”
Local Portland Mayor Peter Roper also said he was not fully consulted. Bibby Stockholm Plans, and said that the plan was like an apartment complex was built on top of it in the blink of an eye.
I It emerged yesterday that the government contractor working on the plan was out of order and urged the Home Office to reconsider plans to accommodate asylum seekers on the Dorset ship.
Migrant Help, which has an agreement with the government to help people going through the asylum system, said it “strongly urges” ministers to drop the plans.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Edward Lee said I that government plans to house between 1,500 and 2,000 asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in his county of Lincolnshire had been announced prior to “any consultation” with local authorities.
He said I that it is particularly concerned that, without additional police forces near the former military base, the local rural population will become a target for anti-migrant protesters.
“We already had ultra-rightists around our district – they recently broke into the base. They posted their hate propaganda on social media. They deliberately stir up anti-migrant sentiment,” he said.
I understands The Home Office has now appointed Simon Ridley, second permanent secretary of the Department of Upgrading, Housing and Communities and a mid-level official, to lead the dialogue with local policy makers, including councils.
The Department of the Interior said: “We are working closely with the Port of Portland, local government and key partners to ensure proper housing, including liaising with local police.
“The government recognizes that the use of alternative sites and courts will require difficult decisions, but urgent action is needed to reduce the cost of using hotels, as these sites provide much-needed accommodation.”
Source: I News
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