DOZENS of asylum seekers living on a barge in southern England staged a protest on Monday (15) to urge the government to speed up asylum procedures, a charity said.
Between 60 to 100 residents of the government-leased Bibby Stockholm in Portland harbour withdrew from meals and organised a two-hour-long sit-in, according to group Stand up to Racism Dorset.
Some locals gathered outside to join the protest, carrying signs including "Life not Limbo" and "no to floating prison".
A Stand up to Racism Dorset spokesperson said almost all of the men on the barge had been waiting more than a year to know their outcomes, which was causing a "significant deterioration in their mental health".
"The continual 'not knowing' together with difficult barge living conditions is affecting some very badly," the spokesperson said.
Designed to house up to 500 asylum seekers, the accommodation has also come under fire because of complaints of conditions on board.
Some have likened it to a prison. One man was found dead in a suspected suicide last December.
Asylum seekers were moved to the barge starting August last year as the previous Tory government attempted to lower the costs of housing asylum claimants, many of whom stay in hotels.
The UK has been grappling with a hefty asylum backlog, which fell to around 86,000 claimants in 2024 from a high of 132,000 last year, according to government data.
According to research group Migration Observatory, over 60 per cent had waited for more than six months for an initial decision on their asylum status.
Last week, home secretary Yvette Cooper did not say whether the new Labour government would stop using the barge to house asylum seekers.
Instead, Cooper said the government wanted to "clear the Conservatives' asylum backlog", which she termed as "chaos".
However, Labour has dropped the Tory government's controversial policy to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, which had been due to start this month.
In May, protests were held across the country to try to prevent the removal of asylum seekers from government-funded hotel accommodation to Bibby Stockholm.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)