Protesters outside London hostel hosting immigrants ‘will be moved to barge Bibby Stockholm’

Dozens of activists have gathered at a south London hostel after migrants living there are to be moved onto the barge Bibby Stockholm.

“Territorial support” police officers and vans were seen outside the building in Southwark on Friday.

Protest group Southwark & ​​Lambeth Anti-Raids said it believed people housed at the hotel in New Kent Road were to be moved to the barge docked in Portland, Dorset.

He called for more protesters to join the action.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers remain at a protest in New Kent Road, SE1. No arrests have been made.”

A Home Office spokesman said no people would be removed from the hostel on Friday.

They added: “Hosting migrants in hotels costs £8 million a day. We have returned 150 hotels to local communities and the public would expect us to use alternative accommodation that reduces costs to the taxpayer.

“The police have extensive public order powers to deal with any potential disorder at protests and have our full support in doing so.” Southwark & ​​Lambeth Anti-Raids helped rally protesters at last week’s large demonstration in Peckham, where 45 people were arrested.

Police clashed with crowds trying to stop a coach heading for Bibby Stockholm.

Activists surrounded the bus at a hotel around 8:40 a.m. Thursday and its tires were left flat.

At around 15:00, it was forced to leave without any asylum seekers on board.

Bibby Stockholm has been a place of accommodation since last August as ministers sought to find alternatives to expensive hotels while migrants await decisions on their asylum claims.

But the ship has been plagued by problems, including an outbreak of Legionella bacteria on board.

In December, one of the people on board was confirmed dead, with reports suggesting he had taken his own life.

In February, MPs warned that the “claustrophobic” conditions on board could amount to a breach of asylum seekers’ human rights.