The first asylum seekers have arrived on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, as the Home Office suggests it could reach its capacity of 500 by the end of the week.

Around 50 people are believed to be in the first group to be moved to the boat under controversial government plans.

Rishi Sunak has said the accommodation will ‘help solve a serious problem’, telling LBC last week: ‘This is an example of me doing something different that hasn’t been done before.’

But dozens of human rights organisations and campaigners, including the Refugee Council and the Institute for Race Relations, signed an open letter last month saying the proposal was ‘cruel and inhumane’.

The firefighters’ union warned concerns over overcrowding and access to fire exits would make the Bibby Stockholm a ‘potential deathtrap’.

However, immigration minister Robert Jenrick offered a guarantee that it is a ‘safe facility’ and said it would welcome its first occupants ‘in the coming days’.

The boat was docked at Portland three weeks ago but sat empty until today as it continued to undergo safety checks.

Asked whether it would be at capacity by the end of this week, Home Office minister Sarah Dines told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Yes, quite possibly it will be 500. We are hoping.’

Pictures from on board the barge show a gym, a room with armchairs facing a TV, and basic bedrooms with a bunk bed and en suite toilets.

Demonstrators holding signs saying ‘refugees welcome’ were among those to greet the first arrivals in Portland.

One protestor held a sign saying: ‘No more Grenfells – respect refugee lives!’

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