ASYLUM-SEEKERS are expected to be brought back to the Bibby Stockholm barge tomorrow.

Campaigners hit out against the Home Office’s “cruel scheme” today, with a number of groups understood to have planned protests at the site.

The floating vessel was evacuated following the discovery of life-threatening Legionella at the end of August. 

The Home Office has since claimed all necessary tests have been completed and letters have been sent to asylum-seekers confirming their re-embarkation.

A supply van was seen delivering food including fresh vegetables to the barge on Tuesday.

The vessel has sparked serious health and safety concerns since its arrival in Portland, Dorset, in July, including from the Fire Brigades Union who condemned its use as a “potential death trap.”

A letter signed by the 39 men who previously stayed on it described how they had found the Bibby Stockholm to be a “terrifying residence,” which had left them feeling “stressed and anxious.”

Matilda Bryce, policy adviser at Freedom from Torture, said: “No matter who we are, or where we’ve come from, we all have the right to live in dignity and in safety.

“But what we’re seeing is a government intent on carrying out unworkable and cruel schemes on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“People, like the survivors of torture we support every day, who’ve fled the most unimaginable horrors and just want to rebuild their lives.”

She added: “We’ve warned this government time and time again that packing refugees onto barges is a mental and physical health catastrophe waiting to happen.

“And, after only a few days on board, refugees who were taken off the Bibby in August spoke of the severe and damaging impact it had on them.

“It’s time now for the government to listen and urgently refocus its efforts into rebuilding a fair, efficient, and compassionate system that protects, not punishes, people.” 

The Home Office previously said that the government delivering “alternative accommodation sites” like the Bibby Stockholm was more affordable for taxpayers than placing migrants in hotels.

It added the vessel would be “more manageable for communities, due to healthcare and catering facilities on site, 24/7 security and the purpose-built safe accommodation they provide.”

Earlier this month, local councillor Carralyn Parkes lost a High Court fight with Home Secretary Suella Braverman over the lawfulness of housing asylum-seekers on the barge.