ACTIVISTS blocked a bus transporting asylum-seekers back to the Bibby Stockholm barge today.

Just Stop Oil protesters temporarily held up the coach on its approach to the vessel at the gates of Portland port, Dorset.

Dozens of anti-racism campaigners also gathered to condemn the returning of men to the 500-capacity facility, previously branded a “potential death trap” by the Fire Brigades Union.

Stand Up to Racism shared photos of its protest welcoming the men back into the community on X, formerly known as Twitter.

They wrote: “Absolutely amazing response by anti-racists in Portland today as Home Secretary Suella Braverman forces asylum-seekers back onto the inhumane Bibby Stockholm prison barge.”

The barge was forced to evacuate at the end of August following the discovery of legionella bacteria in its water supply.

The Home Office has since insisted it has passed safety tests despite widespread condemnation from refugee charities and health and safety fears since its arrival in Dorset in July. 

A local councillor recently lost a High Court challenge over the legality of its use.

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said: “The people who were on the barge during the legionella outbreak have consistently told us that being on board was like being detained in a prison.

“They are accommodated behind high-security fences, surrounded by security guards and prevented from leaving on foot.

“By using accommodation like barges and barracks, the government is stripping asylum-seekers of their liberty.

“We already know from clients who have been accommodated at the former RAF barracks in Wethersfield for three months now, that the longer people are kept at these sites, the more their mental health seriously deteriorates.

“These institutional sites are simply inhumane and Care4Calais will continue to stand against them.”