A Tory MP has demanded to see safety reports for a barge that the government plans to use to house asylum seekers.

The Bibby Stockholm – which will house 500 people waiting for decisions on their applications – departed from Cornwall today to head to its new dock at Portland Port in Dorset.

Chris Loder, who represents West Dorset, claimed the figure was double the capacity the barge had been designed to hold.

In a letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman and transport minister Baroness Vere, Mr Loder said: “I am writing to you this evening to ask that you either stop the Bibby Stockholm or that you provide the necessary safety risk assessments that confirm this vessel is safe to cope with double the weight that it was designed to bare.”

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