Lee Anderson hits back at Diane Abbott in row over Bibby Stockholm migrant barge

Lee Anderson hit back at Diane Abbott after she insisted migrants should not have been housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge. The 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel, docked in Portland Port in Dorset, this week are being removed today as a precaution due to the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply. Taking to Twitter, former Shadow Home Secretary Ms Abbott said migrants “should never have been housed in this unfit accommodation”. But the Tory deputy chairman highlighted that it was previously used for oil and gas workers. Mr Anderson said: “Where was your outrage when our oil workers were staying on this barge?” Lee Anderson defended the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house illegal migrants (Image: GETTY) The Home Office said none of the 39 migrants has shown symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, which is a serious but uncommon form of pneumonia caused by breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria. The outspoken Ashfield MP has already been embroiled in a Twitter row with Ms Abbott this week after she criticised him for telling migrants complaining about the barge to “f*** off back to France” . Mr Anderson made the comment after around 20, supported by refugee charity Care4Calais, were not transferred to the giant barge following legal interventions. He told the Express: “If they don’t like barges then they should f*** off back to France.” Mr Anderson went on: “I think people have just had enough. These people come across the Channel in small boats, if they don’t like the conditions they are housed in here then they should go back to France or better not come at all in the first place.” Ms Abbott said: “Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson tells asylum seekers to ‘f*** off back to France if they don’t like barges’. A new low even for the Tories.” But Mr Anderson responded: “Wrong again Diane Abbott. “I told illegal migrants to go back to France not genuine asylum seekers. “Btw not seen you in Parliament for a few months. Are you on leave or have you said something daft again?” Ms Abbott was stripped of the Labour whip in April over a letter to a newspaper claiming Jewish people do not face racism. A Home Office spokesperson said: “The health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority. “Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation. “Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long-established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to. “As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken. “No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires’, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support. “The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel. Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person to person.”