Labour government would continue to use barges and ex-military bases to house asylum seekers to clear backlog – Kinnock
Barges would be used by a Labour government to house asylum seekers for a “very short” period while the cases backlog is tackled, the shadow immigration minister has said.
Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock said former military bases would also continue to be used for a period of possibly around six months during work to bring down claims delays from a record high.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has previously indicated she would not be able to immediately shut down the sites but declined to be explicit about the policy.
On Sunday, Mr Kinnock told BBC Breakfast: “The reality is that we’ve got tens of thousands of people in hotels, we need to get them out of hotels and we need to get them off the barges and out of the military camps too.
“Because of the complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis, we are going to have to continue in a very short-term period to use the infrastructure that is there, including the barges and the hotels.”
Timeline
Mr Kinnock said he cannot give a specific timeline as ministers work to bring down the decisions backlog from a record high of more than 172,000 cases.
The Labour MP added: “We will be forced to use these contingency measures because of the mess the Government has made.
“I’m confident that within six months of a Labour government we will be getting on top of the backlog and clearing people out of hotels and putting them into suitable accommodation, or removing them from the country properly because they have no right to be here.”
The Bibby Stockholm in Portland Port, Dorset, is the first barge the Government has procured to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed.
After a series of delays, it still has no migrants living on it amid continued safety fears centring on plans to house about 500 people on it – far over its original capacity.
Mr Kinnock added to Sky News that he feels “deeply unhappy” about having to resort to the barges.
“This is the last thing we would want to be doing because we believe that people who are applying for asylum should be in appropriate accommodation,” he said.
The Bibby Stockholm in Portland Port, Dorset, is the first barge the Government has procured to house asylum seekers while their claims are processed.
After a series of delays, it still has no migrants living on it amid continued safety fears centring on plans to house about 500 people on it – far over its original capacity.
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More evidence that Kier Starmer’s Labour in Westminster isn’t what we need….what we need is ANNIBYNIAETH.
“If” Labour get in at the next GE, there is going to be a lot of disappointment, but it does look as though, despite msm and all the champagne socialists getting behind sir kieth, they are deliberately trying to lose, they or starmer has done more u turns than the tories.
It’s a difficult task with high numbers coming here, us not knowing whether they’re genuine or not until interview process is over (not having the resources to conduct the interview process quickly or effectively) and then afterwards not having an easy system to return them to their home country if found not to be genuine people owed protection. More and more people will try to arrive as planet’s climate becomes inhospitable and northern Europe becomes place to live. Especially if we continue to cut foreign aid or destabablise foreign countries through selling weapons for war. But our infrastructure is old… Read more »
What a surprise from Neil Kinnock he says with an air of sarcasm. Why doesn’t he just shut up and go back under his bridge where he belongs. Tory troll! Who can forget this hypocrite when he promised he would abolish the House of Lords before this corrupt career politician boarded the “I’m alright jack gravy train” , family intow, only later to enter said House of Lord’s as a life peer himself. Hypocrite! And his contempt for Wales was evident when in 1979 he campaigned to stop Welsh devolution, and stated in a meeting once how Wales had no… Read more »
UK Labour are coming across as soft Tories more and more each day. Instead of keeping inhumane barges the immigration service such be improved, starting with more immigration officers and processing facilities either side of the channel. Ultimately, the only way we will ever get a decent immigration service is if we create one ourselves after independence.
.. or stop immigration completely, clear the backlog of asylum cases and live with the consequences !!! Already some Tory talking head has been spouting about retired people re entering the jobs market to deliver pizzas etc etc. I suppose that would be one of the ruling elites’ ways of making up for the labour shortage caused by a freeze on immigration ! Not so clever having retired clerks in their late 60’s or older pitching up for 9-10 hour shifts erecting scaffolding. Do any of these people have any idea what really goes on in the world of work?
Immigration will never be stopped completely, it’s been happening for centuries and will continue to happen. In fact it’s likely to get worse with climate change. Ironically, if the Gulf stream is stopped, by melting northern ice, it could us who will be the immigrants moving south!
Total vote loser.
What ever happened to the Labour Party?