The Home Office is believed to be responding to a surge of Channel crossings expected in the coming months. A Home Office source told the newspaper: "It's obvious we can't again be in a position where we're having to spot-book expensive hotels on the fly for migrants. The tents are part of a wider strategy to seek out new accommodation for asylum seekers to reduce the hotel bill to house them, which the government claims costs taxpayers £6m a day. I don't think an asylum strategy based on the weather is a particularly sustainable strategy." pic.twitter.com/R5p1jnlBE0 — Farrukh (@implausibleblog) June 5, 2023Around 50 asylum seekers are set to move on to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge, a Whitehall source told Sky News.

Source: The Times July 28, 2023 11:58 UTC