Asylum seekers moving onto the Bibby Stockholm migrant boat have likened the conditions to the notorious Alcatraz prison.
The boat, located at Portland in Dorset, has room to accommodate up to 500 people. But one of the first people to move onto it told the BBC it felt like a prison.
The Home Office however says the barge will provide better value for the public purse. It comes as the number of small boats arriving at the British coast continues to grow.
The Bibby Stockholm is the first barge secured under Rishi Sunak’s plan to reduce the cost of asylum seekers. The first 15 people moved onto the barge on Monday, after a series of delayed related to safety/
The boat will house men aged between 18 and 65. They will be there while their immigration applications are processed by the Home Office.
An Afghan asylum seeker has now opened up to the BBC about how he found the barge. He said: “The sound of locks and security checks gives me the feeling of entering Alcatraz prison.
“My roommate panicked in the middle of the night and felt like he was drowning. There are people among us who have been given heavy drugs for depression by the doctor here.”
He claimed they have each been given a small room. The man also believes the dining area has room for fewer than 150 people at a time.
The barge has 24/7 security in place with each resident issued with ID swipe cards. They have to pass through airport-style security scans to get on and off the boat.
Due to security reasons, a shuttle bus takes asylum seekers the port exit. There is no curfew, however is they are not back there will be a “welfare call”.
The Home Office has said it would support their welfare by providing basic healthcare, organised activities and recreation. With 15 people already housed on the Bibby Stockholm, the Care4Calais charity says it is supporting another 15 who refused to move to Portland.
On Tuesday, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffiths, said that moving to the barge was “not a choice” and if people choose not to comply “they will be taken outside of the asylum support system”.
The asylum seeker told the BBC a majority of the people currently housed on the barge arrived by aeroplane instead. He claims a majority applied for asylum on arrival.
He says two weeks ago they received letters saying their access to the NHS would be cut off.
Another man said he arrived from Iran by aircraft six months ago. He said he had eaten a “good” breafast on the barge, which included “eggs, cheese, jam and butter”.
The government says it is spending £6m per day housing more than 50,000 migrants in hotels. A Home Office spokesperson said: “This marks a further step forward in the government’s work to bring forward alternative accommodation options as part of its pledge to reduce the use of expensive hotels and move to a more orderly, sustainable system which is more manageable for local communities.”
“This is a tried-and-tested approach that mirrors that taken by our European neighbours, the Scottish government and offers better value for the British taxpayer,” they added.
By autumn the Home Office plans to house 3,000 asylum seekers in places that aren’t hotels. This includes the barge and former military sites in Wethersfield, in Essex, and Scampton, in Lincolnshire.
