Exploited in Britain
Modern slavery thugs abuse 100,000 people and cost our economy £33bn a year
CRIMINAL gangs running modern slavery networks are costing the economy £33billion a year, a shocking report reveals today.
More than 100,000 men, women and children, one third of them British citizens, are being held as slaves at the moment, it is estimated.
The research, released exclusively to the Daily Express, found up to 8,000 criminals operating in the UK are forcing enslaved workers into lives of unremitting misery.
Some are being made to endure back-breaking labour in our fields and building sites. Others have to work in domestic or commercial areas.
Thousands are threatened and beaten into prostitution, drug-dealing and criminal activity.
The slave masters are in almost
every case getting away with “appalling” crimes that dehumanise their victims and cause lifelong mental and physical damage, the report warned.
It said: “Organised crime networks behind modern slavery are continuing to act with impunity, costing the UK billions of pounds.
“The imperative to stop slave gangs in their tracks could not be clearer, yet prosecution rates remain low.
“Those exploited and abused on UK soil, whether UK citizens or foreign nationals, deserve care and a chance to recover.They also often crave justice. Those committing these appalling crimes too often act with impunity.”
The report was compiled by the Centre for Social Justice and the charity Justice and Care.
It noted that of the 6,000 to 8,000 criminal slavers active in the UK, there were just 56 convictions in 2020.
The economic cost of the crime is staggering. The report cites Home Office statistics compiled in 2018 estimating an average cost to the economy of £328,720 per victim.
The figure includes the lost work they would have been doing if legally employed, and the cost of the damage to their health and law enforcement figures.
It also includes costs regarding business compliance with anti-slavery laws. It did not include the cost of prosecutions. The CSJ estimated there are at least 100,000 enslaved people in the UK, making the overall cost to the economy £32.9billion.
Researchers spent a year speaking to scores of rescued survivors of modern slavery, frontline police officers, charities and local authorities for the report, entitled A Path to Freedom and Justice.
They made 24 recommendations to the Home Secretary, focusing on providing extra support and demanding that police forces nationwide give the crime a higher strategic priority.
Former Tory leader and ex-Cabinet minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith welcomed the report and recommended its findings to the Home Secretary Priti Patel.
He said: “It is hard to believe that this exploitation is happening on our own doorsteps in British communities. Just imagine the fear, degradation and torment that victims of modern slavery endure – and then recognise it is happening here.
“Modern slavery is a terrible crime.We must not allow these victims to suffer in the shadows any longer.
“We owe it to each and every survivor of slavery exploited on our watch to protect them from further harm, set them on a path to a safe and secure future and prevent their abusers wreaking havoc in the lives of others. This report powerfully illustrates the challenges victims face when they escape slavery and try to rebuild their lives.
“With growing numbers of victims being found, the systems to identify and support them are creaking under the strain.
“Victims are being lost before they even enter the support system and others are being passed from pillar to post receiving varying
qualities of care. As the report highlights, we need to recognise that victim care is integral to disrupting organised criminality.
“By caring for victims properly we can enable them to provide key evidence to police. This is how we will dismantle criminal slavery networks and prevent more people from becoming victims in future.
“The recommendations in this report show how this can be done, ranging from safe places to protect victims when they are first identified to creating long-term pathways to recovery.
“Slavery and the organised crime networks that facilitate it are a serious threat to the fabric of our society.
“The need for political leadership and swift action is clear.”
The CSJ report found the failure to prosecute was linked to the support available to escaped victims at the point of first contact with the authorities.
Victims were often terrified of their abusers and needed to be provided with immediate safe accommodation and significant support to enable them to testify.
Success was linked to a “golden hour” of first contact, the report said:
It added: “The moment of rescue is crucial. It could either mean a way out of exploitation or remaining trapped under the sophisticated control methods of their traffickers.
“They are fearful of reprisals from traffickers, fearful of the authorities and therefore do not want to engage. Safe places are needed, before they are faced with cooperating with the police.”
Justice and Care has charity workers called victim navigators who help police and victims negotiate the correct procedures. Christian Guy, chief executive of Justice and Care, said: “Modern slavery is all around us. This major report makes a number of recommendations that the Home Secretary can quickly implement.
“They will lead to the care that survivors need, offering greater value for money to taxpayers and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.”