Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he won’t ‘waste money on gimmicks’ after he was questioned by South Dorset’s MP about the Bibby Stockholm asylum seeker barge at Portland.

During today’s Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament, MP for South Dorset Lloyd Hatton labelled the barge as a ‘gimmick’ and asked the Prime Minister for reassurances over whether it, and other services, will be closed for good.

Mr Hatton said: “I welcome the Home Office’s decision to close the Bibby Stockholm barge in my constituency. We all know this barge is a gimmick. First it arrived late, second it cost the taxpayer a fortune, third it was laden with fire and disease risks, and fourth, it likely contributed to the death of a 27-year-old asylum seeker onboard.

“So, can the Prime Minister reassure my constituents that this unworkable gimmick and similar unworkable gimmicks will be closed down so we can clear up the mess from the party opposite?”

Sir Keir responded: “I thank my honourable friend for the question. Unlike the party opposite, we won’t waste money on gimmicks, and that’s why within days we ended the Rwanda scheme, we announced the launch of the border security force, and we’re preparing legislation to introduce counter-terrorism powers to tackle gangs.

"In the first two months, we have removed more than 400 people on planes who had no right to be here, compare that with the four volunteers sent to Rwanda that cost seven hundred million pounds. This is a government of service, not a government of gimmicks."