The so called, Portland 'barge'...

Every ship is different Dan just as every building is different.  That is why they are all assessed as individual entities.  In the event of a fire can all people exit the building/ship safely within a reasonable time.  Its not the absolute number that matters - its essentially the number of people compared to the number of exits . If a barge is designed for 200 people, it is likely that the fire safety would have been designed with 200 people in mind. What is safe for 200 people may not be safe for 500.  Not a hard concept to grasp.  If the ship is designed for 5000 people and fire safety has been designed for those 5000, it is likely to be safe.  Put 10,000 on board and it may not be.

The letter highlights the company’s 'well-evidenced historic ties' to the transatlantic slave trade and points out the detention-like conditions that will be in place on board, and asks for a public response.

Here are the signatories. Aside from a gaggle of unreconstructed members of Militant Tendency on Liverpool Council and a sycophantic Labour MP, the list reads like a Who’s Who of the Friends of Asylum Seekers branch of the Immigration Industry. In addition to a grovelling apology for Bibby Lines’ alleged participation in the slave trade over 200 years ago, they are demanding that Bibby “withdraw from chartering vessels for the containment of people fleeing war, conflict and persecution,”

Cheeky sods. If I were the CEO of Bibby I’d tell them to go jump in Portland Harbour. But I think we all know that’s not going to happen.


The signatories:

Nicola David, Founder, One Life To Live
Enver Solomon, Refugee Council
Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, STAR (Student Action for Refugees)
Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary UK
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
Liz Fekete, Director, Institute of Race Relations
Denise McDowell, Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
Sally Daghlian OBE, CEO, Praxis
Zoe Gardner, National Committee, Another Europe is Possible
Lou Calvey, independent UK refugee and asylum specialist
Mabli Jones, Deputy Director, Asylum Matters
Tigs Louis-Puttick, Founder, Reclaim The Sea
Maddie Harris, Founder, Humans For Rights Network
Kamena Dorling, Head of Policy, Helen Bamber Foundation
Rivka Shaw, Policy Officer, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
Sally Hough, Director, Napier Barracks Drop-In Centre
Aderonke Apata, Founder and CEO, African Rainbow Family
Eleanor Brown, Managing Director, CARAS
The Baroness Brinton, House of Lords (Liberal Democrats)
Juliet Kilpin and Simon Jones, Peaceful Borders
Charlotte Zosseder, Director, Samphire
Qerim Nuredini, CEO, Bristol Refugee Rights
Jo Cobley, CEO, Young Roots
Susannah Baker MBE, Founder/Trustee, The Pickwell Foundation
Maya Esslemont, Director, After Exploitation
Detention Action
Bridget Young, Director, NACCOM (The No Accommodation Network)
Lucian Dee, Waterloo Community Counselling
Rosario Guimba-Steward, CEO, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network
Amber Bauer, CEO, forRefugees
Catharine Walston, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
The William Gomes Podcast
Refugee Support Europe
Lucy Nabijou, Coordinator, Haringey Welcome
Shelley Moister and James Batty, Trustees, One And All Aid
Loraine Masiya Mponela, author
West London Welcome
Sarah Teather, Director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK
Steve Smith MBE, CEO, Care4Calais
Jenni Regan, CEO, IMIX
Simon Taylor, Trustee, Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
Josie Naughton, CEO/Co-Founder, Choose Love
Rainbow Migration
Ewa Lelontko, Co-Founder, Voices Without Borders
Sara Robinson, Director, St. Augustine’s Centre
Eleanor Bano-Few
Mark Goldring, Director, Asylum Welcome
Cllr Steve Munby, Liverpool City Council
Cllr Lucy Williams, Liverpool City Council
Cllr Alan Gibbons, Liverpool City Council
Cllr Pat Moloney, Liverpool City Council
Cllr Joe Dunne, Liverpool City Council
Cllr Lucille Harvey, Liverpool City Council
Bristol Defend Asylum Seekers Campaign
Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders
Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director, HIAS+JCORE
Ian Byrne MP, Liverpool West Derby (Labour)

All the usual suspects, well outnumbered by those who do not share their views, as per usual they can say and do as they like when they like and how they like, the rest of us can say what we like as long as we say nothing and do nothing in public 

The first batch of Alleged Asylum Seekers to be housed on the Barge should happen today about 50 of them according to the media, meanwhile the Government is in discussion with five African Countries to house Alleged Asylum seekers that enter the UK unlawfully, if that fails they could be sent to Accension Island instead

You have mixed up asylum seeker and refugee.

When you arrive, if you claim asylum, you are an asylum seeker.

If your asylum is granted you become a refugee.

Like I said, no such thing as an alleged asylum seeker, you have either claimed asylum or not.

Those people that have entered my country unlawfully that are being placed on the Barge have not been granted Asylum in the UK they have not even been assessed yet, the Authorities do not who they really are or their country of origin at this point in time