Dorset Council has been accused of "deafening silence" and "lies" over its lack of opposition to the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge, currently heading to Portland Port.

Public questions to be put to a meeting of Dorset Council in Dorchester tonight (Thursday), will query the council's legal advice and claimed it was not too late to take court action, as other councils and individuals had over asylum seeker accommodation plans elsewhere.

In questions released in documents ahead of the meeting, resident Alex Bailey comments: "Please detail the legal advice Dorset Council sought and received, and from who, when, and where regarding the agreement between Portland Port and the Home Office.

"The people of Portland, Weymouth, and Dorset want answers, and your silence has been deafening… while your lies have just left a poor taste."

Another public question, from Stephen Coggins, asks: "Why has Dorset Council not mounted legal action blocking Home Office plans to house asylum seekers on a barge in a highly deprived area with limited single road access, and where the area's main income is tourism, while at least three other councils have succeeded in court Injunctions with little cost and 100 per cent success?"

Susan Phoenix asks the council to still consider a legal challenge, commenting: "Please would the council consider changing their position and challenging the placement of the Bibby Stockholm in Portland harbour? It cannot be too late, and it would restore so much confidence in the local communities of Portland and Weymouth."

The meeting, which starts at 6.30pm at County Hall, Dorchester, tonight (Thursday, July 13) will hear a motion from Weymouth councillor Tony Ferrari, calling on the council to condemn the siting of the 500-place accommodation barge in Portland Port.

The Littlemoor and Preston councillor, who has support from other Conservative councillors, also asks for the barge to be removed as soon as possible.

'Outrageous' treatment of Dorset by Home Office

The United Kingdom has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute. The government is using barges and other accommodation options as an alternative to hotels to house asylum seekers, saying this offers better value for the taxpayer.

Dorset Council has negotiated a funding package from the government of £3,500 per occupied bed space on the Bibby Stockholm, plus a one-off payment of £377,000.

The barge is expected to be moored at Portland Port for 18 months and will house up to 500 asylum seekers – adult males aged between 18 to 65 from various countries, all of whom will have been in the UK for some time.

Asylum seekers will have been through a 'suitability screening' process that includes physical and mental health checks and security screenings, such as identity checks against UK immigration and police data bases.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the Dorset Police and Crime Panel, Weymouth councillor Pete Barrow said the way Dorset had been treated by the Home Office with regards to siting of the barge was outrageous – and his view was echoed by Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick.

Cllr Barrow said: "The fact that this has happened and we've had no consultation and no warning and this immensely disruptive situation has arrived in our area is outrageous..

"It's thanks to the police and all the other services for resolving the government's mess for them. Hopefully this all works out and everything is all okay, but the initial situation was just outrageous."

Police to receive additional funding of £520,000

The commissioner said he echoed the feelings and told the panel of his battle to try and ensure additional Dorset Police costs were not met locally, but by central government, resulting in an agreed payment of an extra £520,000 for policing costs and a promise for the Home Office to meet any mutual aid payments in full, should extra officers need to be brought into the county from outside forces to help maintain normal policing levels.

Mr Sidiwick said that there was no infrastructure in place, or seemingly even considered, when the announcement that the barge was coming was made.

"I would characterise the Home Office response as lethargic and somewhat confused… initially there was a lack of understanding that this was not just a hotel, but a novel situation," he said.

He said he was now content with the level of financial support, with a promise that further funding would be considered, should other costs later be identified, or should the barge stay longer than a year.

But he added: "I am frustrated by the fact that the community have been left in the dark as we tried to extract information from the Home Office – I was very clear and direct in some of my correspondence that they needed to come to Portland and I was grateful that they did even though the answers may not have satisfied the people of Portland.

"For the moment though, we are where we are. I'm content and the Chief Constable is content that the initial concerns have been addressed. I absolutely expect to be putting in another bid and I'm determined that the cost of this exercise will not be borne by police budgets already, it will be paid for centrally."

The Police and Crime Commissioner added: "We now have to make it work for two sets out people; the asylum seekers who haven't asked to be put on this barge, but also very much the people of Dorset and in particular the people of Weymouth and Portland."