‘Forced labour risk during pandemic’

ACTIVISTS have warned that a majority of modern slavery victims in the UK may be going undetected.

Anti-slavery charity Justice and Care and think tank the Centre for Social Justice said the coronavirus pandemic was likely to push more people into forced labour at car washes and brothels.

Justice and Care said political leadership to tackle modern slavery had waned in recent years, and that a landmark 2015 antislavery law may have created a “false sense of security”.

“While Britain has made progress fighting modern slavery, not least in the passing of the Modern Slavery Act five years ago, so much more work is needed to combat the issue,” the charity’s chief executive, Christian Guy, said.

The world-first law has been subjected to reviews following criticism that it is not being used fully to jail traffickers, drive companies to tackle forced labour, or help enough victims. “Ninety per cent of victims may be going undetected and thousands of traffickers are running riot,” Guy added.

A record 10,627 suspected victims were identified last year in Britain, up 52 per cent from 2018. Most were victims of labour abuse and many came from Albania, Nigeria and Vietnam.

Government research in 2018 said the crime sets Britain back by up to £4.3 billion annually, based on an earlier estimate of 10,000-13,000 slaves living in the UK.

There are calls for the government to update its estimate, and the cost of the crime to the taxpayer.