MOST people will not have heard the words Bibby Stockholm uttered before this week, but the name will be very familiar to anyone who worked on the Laggan-Tormore Gas Plant in Shetland.

In 2013, I was working on this construction site and one of the accommodation barges was the Bibby Stockholm itself.

So, I was somewhat surprised to see it described as "luxury" accommodation. Either the person writing that has experienced some pretty poor living accommodations, or was just being disingenuous in an attempt to whip up some good old fashioned racist outrage.

Given that it was in the Daily Mail, I know which option my money is on.

Don’t get me wrong, the accommodation was by no means terrible, the rooms were clean and the food was good, even if the wifi was awful.

However, the circumstances under which you were there would very much determine your experience.

The rooms I stayed in were very much like a cabin on a ferry, about 12ft by 12ft with an ensuite bathroom. There was a small single bed in each or a set of bunk beds. If you were sharing a room it would have been with someone doing the opposite shift, so a day shift sharing with a night shift, so that you would never have had to sleep in the room at the same time.

The rooms are small and clearly designed for sleeping in, not living in.

Sharing this small space with one or more other people for extended periods of time would undoubtably have an impact on your mental health and almost certainly exacerbate stress and anxiety.

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The corridors were very narrow and the ceilings low, again much like being on a ship rather than a luxurious hotel as some would have you believe.

When it was moored in Lerwick, we were able to come and go as we pleased. We obviously had money to spend in the shops if we wanted different food, we could get takeaways, and we could go to the pub.

Given that these asylum seekers are not allowed to work and the living allowance they get is pittance, I very much doubt they will be able to enjoy what freedom they are granted.

The accommodation barge itself had a bar, a gym and a TV room which people used to varying degrees, but I understand that some of this will be off limits to those being housed here now.

The lack of actual living space will be one of the major problems and I would say that given the nature of their indefinite stay it will feel more like an open prison than a luxury liner.

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I would also say that if you spoke to most people who worked alongside me what they thought of the Bibby Stockholm, they would say that the accommodation was pretty decent and that they were happy enough with it while they were there.

However, imagine if followed that up with: "Would you like to live on this barge indefinitely while you awaited your asylum claim to go through an utterly broken immigration system, with no money, not able to work and sharing a room with at least one other person at all times?"

The answer you would get back would be a resounding "no".

We wouldn’t want it for ourselves. We wouldn’t want it if we were forced to flee this country and seek sanctuary elsewhere. Why should we expect it to be ok for those people who have come here, many of whom will be escaping war and persecution in their own countries?