UK Threatens to Cut Gov't Aid to Migrants Refusing to Board Bibby Stockholm - Reports
© AFP 2023 / GLYN KIRKUK Border Force officers help migrants, believed to have been picked up from boats in the Channel, disembark from Coastal patrol vessel "HMC Speedwell", in the port of Dover, on the south-east coast of England on August 9, 2020. - The British government on Sunday appointed a former marine to lead efforts to tackle illegal migration in the Channel ahead of talks with France on how to stop the dangerous crossings. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
© AFP 2023 / GLYN KIRK
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - On Monday, the first group of immigrants was moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge, which the government plans to use as a housing facility to save taxpayers’ money.
The United Kingdom has warned illegal immigrants who refuse to get housed at the Bibby Stockholm barge that it will cancel their government support if they do not comply, media reported on Tuesday, citing a letter received by an asylum seeker from the Home Office.
"If you do not travel tomorrow, on 8 August 2023, arrangements for ceasing the support that you are receiving from the Home Office may commence," the alleged letter, obtained by media, reads, stressing that accommodation is being offered on a "no-choice basis."
Meanwhile, the UK government has also announced a new task force to crack down on lawyers who help migrants to game the country’s immigration system.
"We are stepping up action to support regulatory action and prosecution of unscrupulous lawyers, with a new dedicated taskforce and tougher sentences," the government said in a statement.
Illegal migration has been a pressing issue for the UK for years and only intensified after the country left the European Union in 2020. In April 2022, the UK and Rwanda signed a migration agreement, stipulating that people recognized by the UK government as illegal migrants or asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda for the processing of their documents, obtaining asylum and relocation.