 Basic beige rooms with metal bunk beds, disconnected TVs that will never be turned on and long corridors – this is what the inside of the Bibby Stockholm looks like. Moored off Portland Port in Dorset, the barge will be reused to house 500 people seeking asylum in England in the coming weeks. Surrounded by 20ft-high fences, crawling with CCTV and 24/7 security, it has been described as a 'floating prison' by campaigners who say it will be overcrowded. The Home Office was keen to deny such claims as officials led a press tour of the vessel earlier this week. The Bibby Stockholm is moored at Portland Port in Dorset (Picture: PA) There are 222 bedrooms on the barge (Picture: PA) They are furnished with a desk, chair and a wardsrobe (Picture: PA) The round-the-clock security presence on the site provided by Isca, consisting of 18 guards trained to military standard taking shifts in groups of six, accompanies CCTV surveillance and back-up from police if needed. In total, there will be about 60 staff including cooks and cleaners will be on board the barge. Bibby Stockholm contains a basic gym, games room and 222 en-suite bedrooms. Towels and a bar of soap have been placed on each mattress ahead of the arrivals. A view of the galley area onboard (Picture: PA) The canteen area where the people staying on the barge will be eating (Picture: PA) The Bibby Stockholm can house up to 500 people (Picture: PA) The bedrooms all have televisions which the operator was told to disconnect but were too costly to remove. Instead, residents will be encouraged to socialise or watch programmes and films in one of four communal TV rooms, and can also learn English in a classroom and worship in a dedicated space. A small number of laptops are also available and there is Wi-Fi throughout the barge. But given how long asylum claims take to process, the conditions may look a lot different when the barge is at capacity. Th){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Basic beige rooms with metal bunk beds, disconnected TVs that will never be turned on and long corridors – this is what the inside of the Bibby Stockholm looks like.
Moored off Portland Port in Dorset, the barge will be reused to house 500 people seeking asylum in England in the coming weeks.
Surrounded by 20ft-high fences, crawling with CCTV and 24/7 security, it has been described as a ‘floating prison’ by campaigners who say it will be overcrowded.
The Home Office was keen to deny such claims as officials led a press tour of the vessel earlier this week.