UK’S tally of modern slaves at least 10 times the official figure

BRITAIN has at least 100,000 slave workers – 10 times the official figure – according to a new report.

William Hague, the former foreign secretary, has called for a renewed drive to tackle the “terrible crime” of holding another human being enslaved after the report found a rise in reported incidents of domestic slavery.

The report, entitled It Still Happens Here, from the Centre for Social Justice think tank and anti-slavery charity Justice and Care, warns the problem is likely to intensify in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Modern slaves are frequently trafficked from abroad, although in the past three years the UK has been the top country of origin of suspected slavery victims, the report says.

It cites harrowing examples of gangs using the identities of victims to commit benefit fraud, victims being plied with alcohol and drugs and forced to beg in the streets or engage in the sale of illicit tobacco or even be exploited in brothels or car washes.

Evidence also emerged on how the Government’s furlough scheme was being abused. Government estimates in 2017 put the cost of slavery on the country at up to £4.3 billion – based on between 10,000 and 13,000 victims.

The report gathered evidence of slavery in the UK across six towns and cities. Using Artificial Intelligence to analyse crime and intelligence reports from West Midlands Police, it found there were likely to be 4,197 victims in one 12-month period. Extrapolating the data to the whole UK population suggests there are at least 99,469 victims linked to cases reported to police. This does not include the hidden majority of victims that are yet to be identified.

The report also clearly links modern slavery to organised crime.

In Leeds, Trading Standards officials linked slavery to widespread tax evasion on cigarette sales while in the West Midlands, a police operation on one criminal network uncovered how victims from eastern Europe were being exploited for labour.

Endorsing the report’s call for a tightening of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Lord Hague said: “Most people find it hard to believe that, nearly two hundred years after Britain formally abolished slavery, the terrible crime of holding another human being enslaved is still widespread here.

“That is because modern slavery is hidden from view, even though it is all around us.”