DOWNING Street has declined to comment on the Home Office dropping plans to place an asylum seeker accommodation on a barge.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesman was asked whether the Prime Minister is still confident in having enough accommodation for people arriving on small boats, given the Home Office is no longer considering using the Birkenhead area, in Liverpool, as a site for a berthing a vessel.

Last week it was also revealed that asylum seekers could reportedly be housed on a barge near Harwich.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has revealed two more giant vessels will be used for migrant accommodation as he insisted his plan to stop Channel crossings was “starting to work”.

According to The Guardian, giant vessels were expected to be moored at Teesport in the North East as well as in docks close to Liverpool.

The newspaper also cited sources which said discussions over the acquisition of further barges and disused cruise ships had taken place, meaning thousands of asylum seekers could be housed in vessels in Harwich, Felixstowe, on Tyneside near Newcastle, and the Royal London docks near City Airport.

Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said the plan had been "seen off" and it was unlikely that any barges would be based in the town.

A Downing Street official said: “I can’t comment on speculation about where there may or may not be sites.

“But as the Home Office have set out, we are exploring ways to add additional capacity.

"That includes vessels like the Bibby Stockholm. Alternative accommodation sites that are being taken forward are Wethersfield in Scampton, a non-military site in Bexhill, so that will add additional capacity.

“And of course, the overarching aim is for policy to act as a deterrent rather than us be required to detain people for extended periods of time.”