Up to 500 migrants who have arrived in the UK illegally will be housed on a giant barge off the coast of Dorset, the Home Office has announced.
The three-storey Bibby Stockholm will provide “basic and functional accommodation” along with 24/7 security under government plans to reduce the costly reliance on hotels.
Estimates have put the overall price tag of the charter and the berthing at more than £20,000 ($25,000) a day, although the Home Office has not set out the cost of the lease agreement for the vessel that will be docked at Portland Port.
Tory-run Dorset Council and local Conservative MP Richard Drax are considering launching legal action to prevent the barge being docked near the seaside resort of Weymouth.
Human rights organisations criticised the “cruelty” of “confining” hundreds of vulnerable people on a barge, as they blamed the government for creating a backlog of asylum claims.
“We will not elevate the interests of illegal migrants over the British people we are elected to serve,” Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said.
“We have to use alternative accommodation options, as our European neighbours are doing — including the use of barges and ferries — to save the British taxpayer money and to prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe.
“All accommodation will meet our legal obligations and we will work closely with the local community to address their concerns, including through financial support.”
The Home Office said people will be moved on to the barge, which is currently in Italy, in the “coming months,” while other ports and further vessels will be “announced in due course.”
The vessel will provide “basic and functional accommodation, and healthcare provision, catering facilities” to 500 single adult males while their claims are being processed.
Round-the-clock security will be in place on board “to minimise the disruption to local communities,” the Home Office added.
UK government unveils 'robust' bill to stop migrant Channel crossings — in pictures
About 51,000 asylum seekers are currently in temporary accommodation such as hotels as the government tackles a backlog of claims.
Dorset Council said Home Secretary Suella Braverman has yet to address a “number of questions”.
“We still have serious reservations about the appropriateness of Portland Port in this scenario and we remain opposed to the proposals,” the local authority said in a statement.
Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds said all plans to hold migrants in former military barracks and boats should be abandoned.
“Confining hundreds of people in isolation on a barge is just more of the political theatre that the government has created to obscure its gross mismanagement of the asylum system,” he said.
“Instead of more ministerial cruelty, we need sweeping asylum reforms, with an emphasis on deciding claims fairly and efficiently, acting on those decisions, eliminating wasteful repeat reconsiderations of decisions that people are entitled to asylum, and making a real effort to reduce huge backlogs and unreasonable Home Office workloads.”
Liverpool-based operator Bibby Marine Limited said the 93-metre-long barge has been refurbished since it was described as an “oppressive environment” used for asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the use of the barge, insisting it would “save the taxpayer money” while being a “fair” approach to tackling small boat crossings.
On a local election campaign visit to Peterborough, he said: “We are spending, as a country, £6 million a day housing illegal asylum seekers in hotels — that can’t be right.”
Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the barge was the result of the Conservatives’ “total failure to clear the asylum backlog”.
“This barge is in addition to hotels, not instead of them and is still more than twice as expensive as normal asylum accommodation. It will house just 0.3 per cent of the current Tory backlog which has skyrocketed and is continuing to grow under the Conservatives,” she added.
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.”
“There will be close co-operation with local agencies, including the health and emergency services during the preparations for the vessel’s arrival and its operation. We will also work closely with local community and voluntary groups,” he added.
But Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the “completely inadequate” accommodation will not provide the “respect, dignity and support” that asylum seekers deserve.
“These muddled plans are a consequence of an asylum system that is beset with chronic delays and a record decision-making backlog, as is the significant increase in the use of hotels in recent years,” he added.
“There would be no need to use barges and former military bases if cases were dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.”
Mr Drax, the South Dorset MP, has said the barge was being “dumped on our door” and has been demanding Ms Braverman scrap the plans.
“Every option’s being looked at including legal action,” he told the PA news agency ahead of the announcement, as he sought to get the project “consigned to the dustbin.”
He cited his concerns about the hit to local tourism and the difficulty of policing the port.
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How to donate
Text the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
6025 - Dh 20
2252 - Dh 50
2208 - Dh 100
6020 - Dh 200
*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
%3Cp%3E%0DIf%20Catherine%20Richards%20debuts%20for%20Wales%20in%20the%20Six%20Nations%2C%20she%20will%20be%20the%20latest%20to%20have%20made%20it%20from%20the%20UAE%20to%20the%20top%20tier%20of%20the%20international%20game%20in%20the%20oval%20ball%20codes.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeren%20Gough-Walters%20(Wales%20rugby%20league)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBorn%20in%20Dubai%2C%20raised%20in%20Sharjah%2C%20and%20once%20an%20immigration%20officer%20at%20the%20British%20Embassy%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20she%20debuted%20for%20Wales%20in%20rugby%20league%20in%202021.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESophie%20Shams%20(England%20sevens)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EWith%20an%20Emirati%20father%20and%20English%20mother%2C%20Shams%20excelled%20at%20rugby%20at%20school%20in%20Dubai%2C%20and%20went%20on%20to%20represent%20England%20on%20the%20sevens%20circuit.%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFiona%20Reidy%20(Ireland)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMade%20her%20Test%20rugby%20bow%20for%20Ireland%20against%20England%20in%202015%2C%20having%20played%20for%20four%20years%20in%20the%20capital%20with%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20previously.%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Rasi, Harry Bentley (jockey), Sulaiman Al Ghunaimi (trainer).
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m; Winner: Ya Hayati, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Magic Lily, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Eynhallow, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
RESULT
Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')
Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
