Dorset Council has made efforts to reassure the public, after legionella bacteria was found on board the Bibby Stockholm assylum seekers barge in Portland.

The 39 migrants being accommodated on the barge were evacuated on Friday after the bacteria was found in environmental samples taken from the boat's water system.

Legionella can cause legionnaires' disease, a type of severe pneumonia, if small droplets of water containing the bacteria are inhaled, which in some cases can be fatal.

It is understood that none of those houses on the barge have displayed any symptom of legionnaires' disease.

A statement from Dorset Council said: "Following these results, the Home Office has been working closely with the UK Health Security Agency and following its advice in line with long established public health processes, and ensuring all protocol from Dorset Council's Environmental Health team and Dorset NHS is adhered to.

"The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself, not the fresh water entering the vessel, therefore there is no risk for the wider community of Portland.

"Legionnaires' disease does not spread from person to person and can only be contracted from contaminated water, usually when it is inhaled in aerosol form."

There is some confusion about when the bacteria was first found on the Bibby Stockholm barge. Dorset Council said that Home Office contractors were notified of the results last Monday, but those on board were not evacuated until Friday.

The council went on to claim that a Home Office staff member was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday, but the government remains adamant that they did not receive written notification of the results until Wednesday evening.

It is thought that it could take a week to disinfect the barge of the legionella bacteria.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay today told Sky News that asylum seekers should return to the barge after the clean-up, despite concerns over health and safety, as it was currently costing the government £6million a day to house migrants in hotels.

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.

The controversial barge is expected to be docked in Portland 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.