Migrants could be housed on Mersey as Government holds talks over new site

Migrants could be housed on the Mersey, with the Government in talks with one of Britain’s biggest ports groups about a new site for asylum-seekers.

The Home Office is understood to be in negotiations with Peel Ports, which operates six UK ports including the harbour and docks along the Mersey in Liverpool, Wirral and Sefton.

Last year, the company provided a berth for a cruise ship accommodating Ukrainian refugees in Glasgow in a deal with the Scottish government.

It follows the announcement on Wednesday of the first vessel for asylum seekers – a barge to be berthed at Portland Port, near Weymouth, Dorset, to house around 500 migrants in 222 cabins.

It is not clear whether any deal with Peel Ports would be for a ferry or barge. It is known that ministers are in negotiations over a ferry that could house up to 2,000 asylum-seekers, with a city or major port the most likely location.

It is thought the more sheltered Wirral docks are the most likely option, rather than Liverpool.

A spokesman for Peel Ports declined to confirm or deny the talks, but said: “We have provided a berth for a vessel accommodating refugees in Glasgow for the last year, with the willing participation of the local authority and their collaboration with the vessel’s management team and the port operations.

“What we have learned is that this model can only work with the full engagement and support of the local authority and other relevant stakeholders.”

Ministers are expected to announce new sites for asylum-seekers within weeks as part of their efforts to reduce the £6 million-a-day cost of housing some 51,000 people in around 400 hotels.

On Thursday, Bill Reeves, chief executive of Portland Port, sought to ease “local concerns” by saying the company had insisted on a “robust” screening process that would mean there should be no economic migrants, criminals or under-18s among the single, adult male asylum-seekers on the barge.

“We are keen to ensure that only those people considered suitable and most deserving after passing strict checks are able to reside at Portland,” he said.

Those housed on the barge will be free to come and go but, because it is a working port, will have to be bussed to and from the port’s entry each time they want to leave. The Home Office said any that failed to return would be called at 11pm to check on their welfare.

Dorset Council and Richard Drax, the local Tory MP, are considering legal action in an attempt to block the move, claiming the historic and busy port, close to popular seaside tourist destinations, is an inappropriate site for a barge housing asylum-seekers.

On Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, attacked plans to turn the former RAF Scampton base in Lincolnshire into an asylum camp, saying it would “ruin the legacy of the Dambusters”, the squadron that used it to mount Second World War  raids to destroy three dams in Germany.

Sir Keir said the plans were “completely wrong” because they would scupper the local council’s £300 million plans to preserve the base’s historic runway as an operational aviation and aerospace hub and a new national heritage site.

He said the planned use of barges and disused military bases to house migrants was “absolutely evidence of failure” by the Government to “get a grip” on the backlog of asylum claims.

It came as the Home Office said 437 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Wednesday – the highest number on a single day so far this year. The previous high for this year was 321 people on Jan 25.

The cumulative number of crossings in 2023 now stands at a provisional total of 4,431. There were 45,755 crossings last year.