Plans to house 500 asylum seekers in a giant vessel in Portland, Dorset, are to be announced by the government today, Sky News understands.
The Home Office has been"exploring" the idea of using vessels to house asylum seekers to reduce the £6m daily bill of using hotels.
Mr Drax, who has previously backed rigorous measures to cut the UK's level of immigration, said the barge was"dumped on our door" without consultation by the Home Office and urgedHe told Sky News"lawyers are looking at it" and added the local police have also voiced their concerns about the plans.
"With 500 migrants or more dumped here, I cannot see this is a sensible move, so for those reasons and many others I reject it," he said. "We already know some migrants have disappeared from hotels, we fear some into gangs. Are they going to stay here? No, there's Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Dorchester, Bridport to the west.The Tory-run Dorset council is also opposed to the use of Portland Port as the site of the vessel, which is effectively a large block of flats on a floating platform.
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