Is he so worried about the right wing of his party that he can't sack her for incompetence?
Good Morning Thursday 7th May 2026
I think someone got out of the wrong side of the bed
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..due to Legionella bacteria being found! First the barge was highlighted as a major fire risk, now it is a significant health risk. Did the Home Office not do due diligence before spending excessive taxpayer money for this white elephant? Health issues are decidedly dangerous as it is planned to house double the normal accommodation of 222 residents on this barge by installing bunks!
Is he so worried about the right wing of his party that he can't sack her for incompetence?
Sunak has said that he has “full confidence” in Braverman.
This usually marks a ministers death knell. We shall see.
Has anyone else seen this? Just to verify if it’s correct?
“At least 3 migrants that were put on the #BibbyStockholm have contracted symptoms of #Legionella” - #ITVNews”
Well, my response to Whitewave was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, Freya
But yes, it has quite a ring about it - I might suggest it to Jenrick for a poster.
Freya5
Callistemon21
Whitewavemark2
Which begs the question, that when Jenrick maintains that the barge will deter asylum seekers, he is lying isn’t he?
Well, I can see his logic.
"Go to the UK and catch Legionnaires Disease" is not exactly an enticement to come here, is it!
🤨You can go to any country and catch Legionnaires disease. Pathetic.
So what exactly are you saying Freya5? Do you not believe that public organisations such as the NHS, local authorities, the government etc. have a legal responsibility to follow Health and Safety directives to protect people’s lives? Shame on you if that’s what you believe.
It's mis management , as usual.
The barge should have had all test done and the results should have been received before anyone went on board.
I think that the real problem is that the barge will be carrying over double the amount if people it was built for. It will be too crowded which will almost certainly result in the spread of disease.
We know that overcrowding in other asylum seeker facilities has resulted in the spread of diphtheria, strep. A, TB, scabies, MRSA, and shigella, apart from the every day illness like flu, common cold and covid.
Freya5
Callistemon21
Whitewavemark2
Which begs the question, that when Jenrick maintains that the barge will deter asylum seekers, he is lying isn’t he?
Well, I can see his logic.
"Go to the UK and catch Legionnaires Disease" is not exactly an enticement to come here, is it!
🤨You can go to any country and catch Legionnaires disease. Pathetic.
Freya5 Of course but some people on here don’t want to believe that. My friend stayed at a posh hotel in Shropshire and as soon as she left had a message to say there was Legionnaires there and to get herself tested. Gyms, hospitals, care homes, spas etc have all had Legionnaires.
Someone on here said the barge was a disease infested wreck or something similar. It was such a stupid comment that I couldn’t even be bothered to reply. 😝
Callistemon21
Whitewavemark2
Which begs the question, that when Jenrick maintains that the barge will deter asylum seekers, he is lying isn’t he?
Well, I can see his logic.
"Go to the UK and catch Legionnaires Disease" is not exactly an enticement to come here, is it!
🤨
You can go to any country and catch Legionnaires disease. Pathetic.
nanna8
These big ships do seem to have a problem with the spread of various diseases. Thinking of the Covid ships and also the stomach viruses that crop up from time to time. I know on cruise ships they are absolutely paranoid about washing hands and hygiene - would there be such rules and regulations on this particu ship ? There needs to be. Horrible thoughts of ‘plague ships’ come to mind. Someone once described them as Petrie dishes, maybe they are right.
Washing hands and hygiene won't do anything to prevent Liegionnaires, nanna8. Like covid, it's airborne.
But, of course, any large gathering of people at close quarters is bound to be a great method of infecting lots of people.... I understand that, before the Liegionnaires bug made evacuation necessary, the government had moved, or tried to move, an asylum seeker with TB onto the barge...
I'm a bit 🤔 at the inference that the detainees on the barge are less than hygienic in their habits..
I wish I could find where I saw this originally.
I’ll get my post reinstated 😄😄😄
Well, if the DM are right, and they are not an anti-government paper, the government knew about it three days before anyone was evacuated:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12402931/Legion-bug-reported-three-days-evacuation.html
These big ships do seem to have a problem with the spread of various diseases. Thinking of the Covid ships and also the stomach viruses that crop up from time to time. I know on cruise ships they are absolutely paranoid about washing hands and hygiene - would there be such rules and regulations on this particu ship ? There needs to be. Horrible thoughts of ‘plague ships’ come to mind. Someone once described them as Petrie dishes, maybe they are right.
From The Guardian.
“Home Office contractors were told that potentially deadly legionella bacteria had been detected on the Bibby Stockholm hours after asylum seekers were taken onboard the barge.
Dorset council flagged the legionella test results to the barge contractors on the day they received them, Monday 7 August, raising questions about why the evacuation of 39 people from the barge took four days.
Initially the government indicated that further tests needed to be carried out before it could be determined how serious a risk the levels of legionella posed.”
So it does seem to suggest that Braverman knew on Monday.
The mayor of Portland is taking the HO to court over the barge - to do with planning permission.
Maremia
That begs the question growstuff, if 36 of those people had paperwork, and had been assisting the British armed forces in Afghanistan, (which in many cases meant saving lives) why are they still in the 'process'? Why? Why is this Government so incompetent on so many levels?
I've been out for most of the day, so forgive me if the discussion has moved on a bit.
One of the reasons for the massive slow down in processing claims is the tory imposition of 'austerity', which in effect meant big cuts to the civil servants responsible for administering government policies. Cuts to home Office civil servants means fewer available to do the processing.
The other question of government competence is answered in the book that I am currently re-reading. An exercise in horror for the reader called 'How Westminster Works, and why it doesn't' by Ian Dunt. Recommended reading for all interested citizens. The whole government system is dysfunctional...
foxie48
researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9663/CBP-9663.pdf
The above is such an interesting and informative document. A couple of things jumped out at me which may explain why the govt is now trying to move asylum seekers out of hotels into cheaper accommodation.
The govt has been using the overseas development budget to fund the costs of ASs. No other country uses such a huge proportion of this budget in this way, a lot of countries do not use it at all for this purpose. So just to clarify, the huge sums of money being spent are largely coming from this budget which has already been allocated, it is not being taken from tax payers services. However, after a year it is assumed that ASs will have had their claims dealt with and become part of the UK population or have been repatriated. This is what is happening in other countries, they do not have people waiting up to 3 years in complete limbo. So during that first 12 months there is absolutely no incentive to consider costs as the money just gets taken out of the OD budget at no further cost to anyone in the UK.
However, after 12 months the picture changes, so the govt has been using some of the Levelling up budget, yup really! We now have a lot more ASs who have been waiting more than 12 months so costs are now starting to count. I don't agree with using OD money in this way but to discover it's been squandered when it could have been used more effectively is to add insult to injury. btw a lot is made of the "leftie" lawyers who help ASs with their request for asylum, the legal aid payment for this service is really low so I am surprised anyone does it, they certainly don't get rich!
And that budget has been reduced in recent years. It’s also money that could actually be used to help prevent people leaving their countries to find a better, safer life. I don’t understand why it never gets mentioned in interviews that that’s where a lot of the 6million is coming from. Even Labour don’t seem to point it out. Then again I suppose a lot of people don’t agree with us giving overseas aid 
Sorry GSM and everyone - I obviously wasn't clear. I've seen the rates but thank you.. - it was this:
it’s the only type of work some of the firms working for asylum seekers do
that I was interested in.
It seems impossible to me that firms could exist only on this type of work and I wondered where the info came from.
Apologies again!
Fleurpepper
growstuff
DiamondLily
Joseann
I remember in school, we had the system tested by an agency regularly, as I believe any place with a large water tank has to be checked. The results were back in a matter of a few days. We always ran the taps for a while before use after a period of not using the system, like after school holidays and lockdown. Children aren't nearly as vulnerable as the elderly, and I assume the healthy young refugees fall into that category, so hopefully no one was too sick.
I'm not sure anyone was actually sick.
But, anyone who is health-vulnerable is more likely to catch any infection.
I was only 30 when I caught LD, but I'd not long had a big operation, so I guess I was pretty weakened by that. I would imagine that, if they have been fleeing across countries, as they say they have, and sometimes living rough, they might also be vulnerable.Only two of the 38 asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm have been fleeing across countries and living rough. They arrived by plane and mainly came from Afghanistan. They would had paperwork and very possibly had been assisting the British armed forces.
Thank you so much for this. Do you have a link, please.
The whole thing is being whipped up because of the looming elections- and will not in any way, shape or form, solve the problem.
What? That they live rough in France, waiting for boats, after travelling from other countries?:
Well, here's a Guardian link, if that helps.
www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/19/france-to-blame-for-refugees-risking-channel-crossings-say-ngos
Absolutely foxie48, to all those Posters saying the money should be spent on our own homeless, well, the Tories have had 13 years to do that, and they didn't, so no they won't.
Just to add, what really annoys me is the manipulation of facts to spin a story. Of course people will get angry if you tell them £6m a day is being spent on housing refugees in hotels, leaving them to think that this money could be spent here in the uk but it's just not true.
NotSpaghetti There's some information here about the rates, I worked out that they get about £30p.h. and that will have to cover office costs, admin support ie all the other costs of running a law practice. A good friend is a criminal defence lawyer and she agrees with GSM that all legal aid work is very poorly paid so actually there's a huge shortage of legal aid lawyers. I also think the costs of legal aid might come from the OD budget but I can#t find evidence of that.
www.gov.uk/government/consultations/immigration-legal-aid-a-consultation-on-new-fees-for-new-services/immigration-legal-aid-a-consultation-on-new-fees-for-new-services
One consolation, at least the payment of £1.6bn for a disease ridden fire hazard is a one off.
You’ll have to find the rates for yourself NS, I’m pushed for time. Should be easy. Some firms just do this type of work, and use unqualified staff. No firm I have worked for has done any legal aid work, but has undertaken pro bono work and done so ethically.
Germanshepherdsmum
Legal aid hourly rates are low but it’s the only type of work some of the firms working for asylum seekers do so clearly they do enough to keep the wolf from the door.
Is this really the case?
It seems improbable given the rates.
Please could you send a link GSM?
I suppose if you are doing it 24/7 to the exclusion of anything else you might build up a list of links/sources and short-cuts and know how to get to useful info more quickly?
This would probably speed you up so you could get more done in a day...
But even so!
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