The latest plan for a cruise ship to house asylum seekers has been scrapped after it was turned down by the port operator.
The vessel was due to house 500 men seeking asylum in Birkenhead, but the plan will no longer go ahead following objections from Peel Ports.
It would have been the seventh site acquired by the Home Office under controversial plans to start transferring migrants away from hotels to crack down on illegal immigration.
A cruise ship is due to arrive in Portland off the Dorset coast imminently despite local opposition.
Peel Ports Group, operator of The Port of Liverpool, said while they could provide the berth in Birkenhead, 'it was dependent on the necessary support from the local agencies'.
The company said: 'We simply observed that we could not see any conceivable scenario where the local agencies are going to be able to provide the necessary support to make this solution work.
'Peel Ports remains committed to fulfilling its full statutory obligations to provide access to any vessel, provided it can do so safely and securely, and it has the available infrastructure.'
Permission to berth a barge housing asylum seekers at an east London docks was also refused.
London's Royal Docks said it had informed the Home Office last month that water beside City Airport would not be appropriate as a potential location.
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