Inquiry launched following death on Bibby Stockholm
Home Secretary James Cleverly has ordered an investigation following the death of an asylum seeker on a barge more in Portland.
Earlier refugee charity Care4Calais said an asylum seeker had died on the Bibby Stockholm.
The barge has been moored at the port in Dorset since the summer and has been at the centre of controversy.
“Tragically there has been death on the Bibby Stockholm barge,” James Cleverly confirmed to parliament. “At this stage I’m uncomfortable getting into any more details, but we will of course investigate fully.”
Dorset police are conducting enquiries into the circumstances of the incident police said in a statement.
As part of that drive to deal with illegal migration the government is trying to cut the cost of accommodating asylum seekers in hotels by using barges and former military sites.
“We have regularly been reporting suicidal intentions amongst residents and no action is taken,” Steve Smith, the charity’s chief executive, said.
“This can no longer continue. Asylum seekers are human beings, many of whom have experienced the worst traumas imaginable through war, torture and persecution. It’s time our political leaders treated them as human beings, listened to the trauma they have experienced and offered them sanctuary.”
