UK government plans to house 500 asylum seekers on barge off southern coast.

The UK government has leased a barge to house around 500 asylum seekers on England's south coast to reduce the cost of lodging for migrants and refugees arriving on its shores. The barge, docked in Portland Port, will accommodate single adult men while their asylum claims are processed. The UK government is hoping to send thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a £120m deal to deter people from crossing, but the first deportation flight was blocked by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights.