Fire alarms tested on Bibby Stockholm after firefighters’ union claims barge is ‘potential deathtrap’

Fire alarms on the Bibby Stockholm have been tested after the firefighters’ union claimed that the barge is a “potential deathtrap.”

Robert Jenrick has said asylum seekers will enter the barge “in the coming days” after a series of delays amid safety concerns.

The immigration minister said around 50 people will board the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, as part of a first tranche this week.

Mr Jenrick said increasing the capacity to around 500 is still the government’s intention, despite concerns from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the vessel was initially designed to house about 200.