Brother would be alive if he received 'proper care'

THE sisters of an Albanian man who took his own life on the “hostile” Bibby Stockholm have said their brother “would still be alive” if he had been given “proper mental health assessment and treatment”.

- BEN MITCHELL

Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin found that the Home Office “missed opportunities” to assess the mental health of Leonard Farruku, 27, before he was moved to the barge at Portland Port, where he died in the bathroom of his room on board on December 12, 2023.

His sisters Marsida Keci and Jola Dushku have questioned how their brother, who they said had struggled with his mental health since the death of their parents, was allowed to be moved to the Bibby Stockholm on November 3, 2023.

The inquest heard that Mr Farruku was previously accommodated at the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton, Devon, and began to show aggressive behaviour in July 2023.

Ms Griffin said that the Home Office had criteria that any resident who had more than primary health care needs, either medical or around mental health, should not be accommodated on the barge, because of its remote location at Portland Port in west Dorset.