• Labor government plans to end the use of the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge for housing migrants off the south coast of England.
• The barge became a symbol of Britain’s tough asylum policy under the Conservatives.
• Human rights campaigners compared it to a prison ship and criticized its use as inhumane.

Britain’s new Labour government announced on Tuesday that it will end the use of the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge to house migrants off the south coast of England. This decision is part of its overhaul of the asylum system. The Conservative government had used the vessel, which can accommodate up to 500 men, to reduce the £8 million daily cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers while their claims are processed.

Anchored off Dorset, the Bibby Stockholm became a high-profile symbol of Britain’s tough asylum policy under the Conservatives. Human rights campaigners compared it to a prison ship and criticized its use as inhumane.

One man died on board last year, and a separate water contamination issue forced the government to remove migrants for several weeks. Britain’s Home Office stated that the barge’s use would end when its contract expires in January.

Labor aims to overhaul Britain’s asylum system by resuming the processing of claims for the tens of thousands of migrants who were left in limbo and at risk of deportation under the previous policy.

The new government has also scrapped the Conservatives’ scheme to send migrants who arrived illegally in Britain on small boats to Rwanda.

“We are determined to restore order to the asylum system, so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced,” Minister for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said.

The Home Office stated that extending the use of the Bibby Stockholm would have cost more than £20 million ($26 million) next year. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that the changes to the asylum system would save taxpayers an estimated £7 billion over the next 10 years.

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