ASYLUM-SEEKERS will be housed on the “potential deathtrap” Bibby Stockholm barge within days, immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed today, as the government ignores safety concerns.

Mr Jenrick said that around 50 people will enter the vessel in Portland Port, Dorset, “in the coming days” as part of a first tranche for the delayed plans.

He offered a guarantee that it is a “safe facility” despite warnings by the Fire Brigades Union on overcrowding and access to fire exits.

The site is the first barge the government has procured to house asylum-seekers while their claims are processed.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock admitted that a Labour government would follow in the Tories’ footsteps under Sir Keir Starmer.

He said they would need to house asylum-seekers for a “very short-term period” on barges and former military bases while it tackles the backlogs.

The Labour MP told BBC Breakfast the move would be necessary while they fix the “complete and utter chaos and shambles of the Tory asylum crisis.”

Freedom for Torture clinical services manager Ann Salter said that the government’s action “reflects just how cruel they really are.”

She said: “This scheme has been slammed from faith leaders to local residents, and the millions of caring people up and down this country won’t stand for it.

“Every day in our therapy rooms, survivors of torture describe the horror, isolation and hopelessness they feel when trapped in housing that is unsafe.

“And living in this type of accommodation could be profoundly retraumatising for them.

“Cramped conditions can be reminiscent of the places in which they were tortured, and being on the water will be a constant reminder of the deadly journeys they made to reach safety.”

Ms Salter said that “cruel and undignified accommodation won’t reduce the Home Office’s asylum backlog,” nor would it stop refugees from seeking safety in Britain.

She said: “All it’s going to do is condemn thousands of people to unsafe conditions.

“The government must abandon this plan and instead house survivors in our communities, where they have proper access to healthcare, and a chance to rebuild their lives.”

The government will be hosting a “small boats week” of linked announcements in the next few days, including on the Rwanda deportation flights.