The UK government was facing “very serious questions” on Saturday after it housed asylum seekers on a barge with contaminated water.
Ministers were accused of having “clearly failed” to take health and safety concerns seriously, after the discovery of legionella bacteria forced 39 people to disembark from the Bibby Stockholm.
A health expert said people who had a shower on board the barge could have been exposed to the bug that causes legionnaires’ disease. Officials say nobody has shown symptoms.
An empty hospital “would check that before we actually started moving patients into that ward, and this didn’t seem to happen. This is very concerning,” medical professor Paul Hunter said.
“If you’re young and healthy you might not actually get any symptoms at all. But if you’ve got pre-existing lung disease, if you’re a smoker, then it can be very severe,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The health scare was a setback for ministers after the first asylum seekers were put aboard the Bibby Stockholm on Monday, in what was billed as a “stop the boats week” to demonstrate the government’s tough stance on migration.
Stephen Kinnock, the Labour opposition’s shadow immigration minister, has written to his Conservative counterpart Robert Jenrick asking what precautions were taken by the Home Office.
He asked the government to explain “as a matter of urgency” when it was warned of health risks and whether any asylum seekers boarded the Bibby Stockholm during testing.
“The government has very serious questions to answer on this, particularly around how much they knew about the risk or actual presence of legionella when they chose to press ahead with sending the asylum seekers on to the barge,” Mr Kinnock said.
He said the government “has clearly failed to take the public health concerns that have been raised for months seriously”.
On board the Bibby Stockholm barge – in pictures
Firefighters said they had received no response from the Home Office after raising concerns about the “huge health and safety risk” of housing asylum seekers on the barge.
The legionella scare “suggests that it's only a matter of time before either lives are lost or there is serious harm to a detainee”, said Ben Selby, assistant secretary general of the Fire Brigades Union.
The Home Office said the health of asylum seekers was its “utmost priority”. It said the bacteria was found in pipes and not at the point of entry to the Bibby Stockholm, and that there was no risk to the mainland.
All 39 have been taken to “contingency asylum accommodation” while health officials investigate. The vessel is moored off the coast of Dorset on the south coast of England.
The government has said housing asylum seekers on the barge was cheaper than putting them up in hotels, after the number of migrants arriving on English Channel boats hit a milestone of 100,000 since 2018.
It was revealed on Friday that 775 people crossed the Channel a day earlier, the highest figure this year.
Mr Jenrick had said on Wednesday that the barge, which houses only working-age men to avoid straining local services, was “decent accommodation” used by oil and gas workers.
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
