Dorset mayor in fresh legal challenge over Bibby Stockholm

High court hearing comes days before Home Office is due to return asylum seekers to barge in Portland

Dorset council is facing an urgent high court challenge by its own local mayor about the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate asylum seekers in Portland.

The case has reached the high court in two daysand is the first time the council has been challenged directly in the high court in relation to the barge. It comes days before the Home Office is due to return people to the barge, which has been empty for more than two months after deadly legionella bacteria was discovered onboard.