Archbishop of Canterbury urges delay to Dorset migrant barge

The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked the government to pause a plan to house 500 asylum seekers on a barge in Dorset.

Justin Welby met community leaders on Portland on Saturday where he said people who live in the area have not been properly consulted.

The Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge is expected to arrive at Portland Port this month after a refit in Falmouth.

The three-storey vessel will house single male asylum seekers while their claims are processed.

The archbishop told the BBC: "In an ideal world, they would suspend the relocation of the barge here while a task group was put together from the Home Office to come and listen to local people and work with local people until a point where everything was in place and concerns had adequately been dealt with."

He said he was not against the idea of the barge in principle, but said it must be "just and fair" for the migrants and the community.

The Home Office said the barge would offer better value for taxpayers than using more expensive hotels.

Portland Port chief executive Bill Reeves said: "We encourage everyone in the community to approach this with an open mind and help us show other areas just how successful this type of initiative can be, both for the migrants and the local community."

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