Growing fears over slavery victims

Record numbers of Britons are being flagged up as potential victims of slavery, a new report reveals.

Last year for the first time UK nationals made up the highest volume of cases passed to a scheme set up to identify children and adults who are at the mercy of slave drivers and traffickers.

Investigators said the devel- opment was partly driven by a jump in referrals relating to children who are exploited by drug gangs.

Last year, 819 UK citizens were flagged to the National Referral Mechanism, more than double the 326 referred in 2016.

The National Crime Agency, which compiled the figures, said the increase in British numbers was largely down to a 66 per cent rise in minors being referred to the NRM as suspected victims of labour or sexual exploitation. This was due in part to an uptick in referrals linked to a drug distribution model known as “county lines”.

This typically involves city gangs branching out into county or coastal towns to sell heroin and crack cocaine. They deploy children and vulnerable people as couriers to move drugs and cash.