This is when, two months after the barge was evacuated due to the finding of Legionella, a Just Stop Oil protest attempted to stop the first asylum applicants from returning to the Bibby Stockholm.
The environmental clowns are seen in dramatic video racing a coach as it enters the Port of Portland and attempting to obstruct its passage.
While another group sits on the road in front of them, the protestors, including a woman on crutches, push back against the moving car and yell at the driver to stop.
When the bus reaches the group that is seated, the driver keeps slowly moving forward, forcing them to stand up.
As the car drives on, activists brandishing a banner that says, “No prison ships,” turn to face the approaching car.
Later, JSO released a statement in which they conceded defeat and frantically charged the driver with having “intent to kill.”
The driver crashed through the barricade, endangering the lives of people in front of him, according to a spokesperson.
“We are sorry to report that we were unable to halt the transportation of refugees to the prison.”
Going after the government’s immigration policy is a change of direction for Just Stop Oil, who typically concentrate only on environmental problems.
After several months of disruptive protests, JSO recently delivered a further blow to the people of London when it announced that it would resume its daily slow marches for three more weeks, starting on October 30.
At least thirty anti-barge demonstrators cheered the asylum seekers as they arrived in Portland today and held signs that said, “scrap the barge” and “refugees welcome.”
29 of the 39 individuals who were taken off the ship in August are anticipated to return today.
According to the Home Office, examinations for Legionella and enhanced fire safety procedures had been finished before their return.
A few have secured housing with family members, a single person has gone back to their nation of origin, and a few others were unable to remain on the barge due to mental health concerns.
“We know that our government’s plan for new oil and gas is going to lead to more people being displaced from their homes,” a Just Stop Oil spokeswoman stated today.
“People entering the UK should not be imprisoned in prison ships, but rather treated with common humanity.”
Not on our watch.
Today, we’re acting to demonstrate our love and support for all newcomers to this nation.
Today, additional demonstrators gathered in Portland to voice their opposition to the barge being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
Annika, from the Portland Global Friendship Group, assisted in creating “welcome bags” that contained toiletries, makeup, notepads, and a map of the vicinity for the newcomers.
We merely want to greet the refugees and show that there are people in this community who care,” she stated.
I believe the idea of the barge is terrible; with all of the security measures they have to go through, it feels really oppressive and like a jail.
Some of the people who had been staying on the Bibby Stockholm were in contact with Candy Udwin of Stand Up To Racism Dorset, she said.
“They hate it, saying it feels like a prison,” the speaker stated.
“Some hate being on the sea, finding it very difficult to leave, and being completely cut off from the community.”
Attending the demonstration was Portland mayor Carralyn Parkes, a local council member who recently lost a legal battle in the High Court against Home Secretary Suella Braverman regarding the legality of sheltering asylum seekers on the barge.
She declared that, as the port’s planning authority, Dorset Council, would be the target of further legal action.
“Vulnerable people are not treated in a humane manner by the Bibby Stockholm,” she declared.
In order to address safety concerns, the Home Office stated that it has been collaborating with the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, which includes constructing a fourth gangway.
According to a spokesman, every employee participating in the fire evacuation has undergone approved fire warden training and will participate in frequent drills.
She said that everyone being taken to the Bibby Stockholm would be notified five days in advance, and that they would all be examined through police and immigration databases and evaluated based on a set of appropriateness criteria.
Their IDs and fingerprints would also be kept on file.
She said that testing had shown no presence of the Legionella bacteria following a thorough system cleansing of the water system.
“The Government is committed to ending the use of expensive hotels for asylum seekers,” the spokeswoman stated.
Relocating asylum seekers to alternative housing facilities, such as the Bibby Stockholm, which offers on-site food and medical services, is more manageable for local communities and more cost-effective for taxpayers.
The head of Care4Calais, a nonprofit that supports refugees, Steve Smith, stated that the organisation was helping asylum seekers fight the accommodations in court.
Speaking against the government’s own appropriateness standards, he stated: “That includes supporting the survivors of torture and modern slavery to legally challenge their accommodation on these sites.”
These difficulties are already causing some of these moves to be postponed or cancelled completely.
‘It’s crucial that people on the barge are able to keep their independence and are allowed to come and go, to enter communities, to experience the local culture, to learn about life here,’ stated Caroline O’Connor, chief executive of Migrant Help.
Isolating a traumatised individual from the culture they are attempting to integrate into doesn’t help them.
The 39 men who had previously resided on the barge, according to a letter signed by Nicola David of the One Life To Live campaign, described the Bibby Stockholm as a “terrifying residence” that felt like a prison and left them feeling “stress and anxiety.”
One of the asylum seekers had even made an attempt at suicide.
“Nothing about the Bibby Stockholm has gone well,” the spokesperson stated.
“They had to settle for something 50 years old, rotten, and unfit for use—it wasn’t even the Home Office’s first or second choice of barge.”
The barge’s plumbing, fire safety, and Legionella issues caused constant delays in repairs.
I found that it is really more expensive per person than motels, thus the government’s plan is ineffective.
Additionally, some claims are being heard by the High Court.
About the legality of keeping asylum seekers on the barge, Portland mayor Carralyn Parkes lost a battle in the High Court against Home Secretary Suella Braverman last week.
Mrs. Parkes sought to make the case that it was unlawful to house migrants on the barge in Portland Harbour due to violations of equality and planning rules.
However, Mr. Justice Holgate decided that Mrs. Parkes, the mayor of Portland and a member of the Portland Town Council, lacked an arguable case.
The Home Office’s solicitors contended that Mrs Parkes’s claim was “out of time” and “without merit,” and they recommended that the judge decline to allow the case to move further with a trial.
According to government solicitors, the local planning authority did not believe that a permit was necessary.
Additionally, they contended that a public sector equality requirement did not establish a “general principle” holding “non-British asylum seekers” together aboard a vessel as “illegal.”
There has been a significant response against the barge from the locals, who are worried about how the newcomers would affect their neighbourhood.
They worry that the inflow of 506 men, who will be free to come and go as they choose, will overwhelm already overburdened services like GP surgeries.
Concerns about a rise in crime and antisocial behaviour, threats to their personal safety, and the effect on tourism have also been voiced by the locals.
The Fire Brigades Union, which has issued warnings regarding “serious fire risks,” is among the institutions that have voiced opposition.
Ms. Braverman retorted that the boat had been utilised as lodging on multiple occasions in the past.
In August, Ms. Braverman said on BBC Radio 4’s Today show, “I think the barge is safe.”
“I’m very confident that this barge is safe for human habitation because it has accommodated people in the past, including oil rig workers and asylum seekers.
Barges of this kind have been used to accommodate asylum seekers, for example in Scotland.
“We complied with all guidelines and procedures before setting sail.”
The Home Office has started to send letters to asylum seekers to confirm the Bibby Stockholm’s re-embarkation and notify them that they will be accommodated on board, subject to the vessel completing all necessary tests,” a Home Office spokeswoman previously stated.
The letters restate that all asylum accommodation is still provided on a no-choice basis and identify the future procedures for applicants for asylum.
Because the vessel and other alternative accommodation sites have on-site healthcare and culinary services, round-the-clock security, and purpose-built safe accommodations, they are more manageable for communities and more inexpensive for taxpayers.
Observers of the group, which typically solely addresses environmental issues, will take notice of Just Stop Oil’s presence at the barge demonstration.
In a Met Police operation yesterday, the group’s founders, Roger Hallam and Indigo Rumbelow, were taken into custody with the intention of “preventing serious disruption.”
Just Stop Oil posted video of the police raid on Mr. Hallam’s residence on Twitter.
When the videographer asks the eco-zealot about the raid, she gives him the thumbs up and says, “all good,” before she is carried away by one cop.
A Just Stop Oil supporter questions the police about the objects they are confiscating as they search the premises and check drawers with torches.
Following months of disruptive protests, Just Stop Oil delivered a further blow to the residents of London when it declared it would continue its daily slow marches for three more weeks, starting on October 30.
This announcement led to the arrest.
After the raids, a resolute Just Stop Oil declared that it would ‘not be frightened’ and will go on with its scheduled slow-march demonstrations in London.
We are not going to allow our criminal government to intimidate us.
The organisation stated in a statement, “They are complicit in the greatest crime in human history by maxing out our oil and gas reserves, not content with cheerleading on war crimes in Gaza.”
“New oil and gas will destroy billions of people’s lives and means of subsistence and cause unimaginable suffering.”
There has never been a democratic mandate to wipe off the habitable planet, and no one has ever voted for this.
Supporters of Just Stop Oil have a strong desire to halt the production of fresh petrol and oil.
People will take action to safeguard humanity if our government fails to act morally and responsibly.
The harsh reality of the situation is that neither our politicians nor our corporations intend to behave in the best interests of our youth or the nation at large.
It doesn’t matter if those in authority are aware that they are committing genocide.
“Because this is the way the next generation and all subsequent generations will perceive it.”
Our buddies who are being held by the police and incarcerated comprehend this concept just as much as we do.
A 57-year-old male and a 29-year-old woman were reportedly detained by the Met Police on suspicion of plotting to create a public nuisance.
Both of them are still being held.
A representative for the Met said, “As part of an operation aimed at preventing serious disruption by Just Stop Oil ahead of more protests expected in London later this month, officers have arrested two people.”
The gang has said in the open that it wishes to create as much trouble as possible.
Following a protest outside a hotel in central London, eco-activist Greta Thunberg was charged by the police with a public order offence.
This led to the news of the pair’s detention.
Following the protest outside the InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane, which was hosting a significant gathering of oil executives, on Tuesday, the 20-year-old was one of 26 persons charged.
According to Scotland Yard, in order to comply with the rules, demonstrators were instructed to relocate from the road onto the pavement.
Thunberg was accused of disobeying a ban on public gatherings; police only provided his address as “Dorset.”
The Swedish activist joined a protest outside the Energy Intelligence Forum (EIF), formerly known as the Oil and Money conference, and was later spotted grinning as she was taken into custody and driven to a waiting police van.
Social media footage showed police frogmarching the campaigner to the van while ordering other demonstrators to move aside.
She had earlier addressed the crowd outside the hotel as part of a demonstration against the EIF event sponsored by Fossil Free London.
She had called on environmental activists to’reclaim the power’ and attacked’spineless’ politicians for their inaction on climate change.
The Public Order Act’s Section 14 imposes conditions, and Thunberg is accused of breaking them.
According to the officers, they requested that the demonstrators relocate off the road onto the pavement so that they may carry on their lawful protests.
According to them, the restrictions were put in place to “avoid disruption to the public.”She was granted bail and ordered to appear on November 15 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
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