5h 8min, jul 23, 2024 y - Bibby Stockholm to be Closed

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The contract for the Bibby Stockholm barge, which houses asylum seekers off the coast of Dorset, will not be renewed past January, the Home Office has announced.

Extending the use of the barge, which is moored off Portland, would have cost more than £20m next year.

The three-storey vessel has capacity for up to 500 men, aged from 18 to 65.

Now run under a Labour government, the Home Office said the move was part of a commitment to “clear the backlog and fix the asylum system”.

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