{"id":122290,"date":"2023-12-13T00:29:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T00:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=122290"},"modified":"2023-12-13T00:29:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T00:29:26","slug":"bibby-barge-asylum-seeker-kills-himself-death-will-be-fully-investigated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/politics\/bibby-barge-asylum-seeker-kills-himself-death-will-be-fully-investigated\/","title":{"rendered":"Bibby barge asylum seeker \u2018kills himself\u2019 \u2013 death will be \u2018fully investigated\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Police were called to reports of the \u201csudden death\u201d of a man living on the giant vessel, which houses migrants in Portland, Dorset, early yesterday morning.<\/p>\n

South Dorset MP Richard Drax described the news as a \u201ctragedy born of an impossible situation\u201d and said he had been told by the Home Office the man is thought to have taken his own life.<\/p>\n

Several other sources have said the death is believed to be a suicide.<\/p>\n

Mr Cleverly told MPs in the Commons: \u201cTragically, there has been [a] death on the Bibby Stockholm barge. I\u2019m sure that the thoughts of the whole House, like mine, are with those affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe House will understand that at this stage I am uncomfortable getting into any more details. But we will of course investigate fully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorset Police said the force received \u201ca report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm\u201d shortly after 6.20am.<\/p>\n

Officers are carrying out inquiries into the circumstances of the incident and the coroner has been notified of the death, a force spokesman said.<\/p>\n

The age and nationality of the man and further details of the incident are yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

Mr Drax said: \u201cThis is a tragedy born of an impossible situation. I was informed of the death by the Home Office this morning and await more information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I never agreed to, nor accepted the imposition of the barge on South Dorset, I believe it was at least a decent, safe haven for some of those cruelly trafficked across the Channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne can only imagine the desperate circumstances which led to this sad outcome; we must do all that we can to end this evil trade in human misery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The barge – the first to be used as part of government efforts to cut the cost of asylum accommodation – has capacity to house up to 500 single men in around 200 bedrooms.<\/p>\n

Asylum seekers were first moved on board in August but evacuated days later after the discovery of Legionella – the bacteria which can cause the potentially fatal Legionnaires\u2019 disease – in the water supply.<\/p>\n

Migrants were taken back to the barge some two months later and Home Office interim second permanent secretary Simon Ridley told MPs in November that there were around 200 people on board.<\/p>\n

The plan has attracted considerable opposition, prompting legal challenges and protests, with campaigners branding it cruel and inhumane.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> Asylum seeker living in tent under a tree after council refuses to house him<\/strong><\/p>\n