Ministers ‘not told about Legionella on Bibby Stockholm for three days’

It comes after 39 asylum seekers were removed from the controversial barge due to the discovery of the bacteria.

The Home Office was not told Legionella bacteria had been found on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset for three days, it has been reported.

The water had been tested by Dorset Council’s environmental health department on July 25 but the results came back on Monday, August 7, after the all-clear had been given for asylum seekers to move onto the barge, according to the Telegraph.

The migrants spent three days on the vessel in Portland Port before ministers were finally told of the test results on Wednesday evening, the newspaper said.

All 37 were evacuated the following day and moved to hotels while the barge is cleaned and made safe, which one expert predicted would take a week.

The council told the Telegraph it gave the test results to the barge’s contractors, because they are ‘the responsible body for the barge, employed by the Home Office’.

The contractors, however, reportedly did not alert the Home Office.

It is believed they eventually contacted the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Wednesday evening, who then called an urgent incident meeting for Thursday morning.

Dorset Council originally opposed the plans for Bibby Stockholm to house migrants and had planned to take legal action, but in the end decided this would be too costly and it was unlikely the council would win.

Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water but can cause a serious type of pneumonia affecting the lungs, known as Legionnaires’ disease. In some cases it can be fatal.

None of those on the barge are showing signs of having the disease, the Home Office said.

David Harper, of Harper Water Management Group, told the Guardian it would take around a week to cleanup the barge.

Mr Harper, an expert in waterborne contamination prevention and emergency response, said the first step for the cleanup team would be disinfecting the barge.

This would involve an arduous process of removing all the shower heads, tap nozzles and strainers before chemical solutions are added to the barge’s freshwater tanks, he said.

Finally, the team would run a flushing regime, with every tap or water outlet being opened for around five minutes, and all toilets flushed.This regime would continue even after residents return.

The first asylum seekers boarded Bibby Stockholm on Monday July 7 after weeks of delays caused by safety concerns, local opposition and legal challenges.

Around 50 people had been expected to board the vessel but around 20 were granted a last-minute reprieve after a series of legal challenges.

The Home Office said the ‘health and welfare of individuals on the vessel is our utmost priority’.

A spokesperson said: ‘Environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm have shown levels of Legionella bacteria which require further investigation.

‘Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with UKHSA and following its advice in line with long established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council’s environmental health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

‘As a precautionary measure, all 39 asylum seekers who arrived on the vessel this week are being disembarked while further assessments are undertaken.’

They added: ‘No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires’, and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support.’

Dozens of human rights organisations and campaigners, including the Refugee Council and the Institute for Race Relations, signed an open letter last month saying the proposal to house asylum seekers on the barge was ‘cruel and inhumane’.

Rishi Sunak said the accommodation would ‘help solve a serious problem’, telling LBC last week: ‘This is an example of me doing something different that hasn’t been done before.’

Take a look inside the barge here.

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