May launches £33m war on modern slavery

THERESA MAY today unveils a £33million crackdown on modernday slavery – amid fears that lack of action could make it a ‘crime of choice’ for people traffickers.

One year on from pioneering antislavery legislation, the Prime Minister vowed fresh action to eradicate the evil trade from the UK.

She announced plans for a taskforce at the heart of Government to combat people trafficking.

There will also be an extra £33.5 million to fight slavery in countries such as Nigeria and to help bring perpetrators to justice.

The moves comes 12 months on from the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act, overseen by Mrs May when she was Home Secretary, and which highlighted how slavery was still taking place in the UK and Europe.

She said: ‘This Government is determined to build a Great Britain that works for everyone and will not tolerate modern slavery, an evil trade that shatters victims’ lives and traps them in a cycle of abuse.

‘Last year I introduced the worldleading Modern Slavery Act to send the strongest possible signal that victims were not alone and that those responsible for this vile exploitation would face justice.’

Downing Street also highlighted an independent review into the first year of the anti-slavery moves, showing slavery prosecutions were rising with 289 offences prosecuted in 2015. The review, by barrister Caroline Haughey, also showed there was a 40 per cent increase in victims referred for support.

Kevin Hyland, the country’s antislavery commissioner, warned that a previous lack of action against slavery could have led to it becoming a ‘crime of choice’.

He said: ‘If you can actually commit these crimes in the high street, whether it’s in car washes, nail bars or brothels or whether it’s in the fields of East Anglia or in the construction industry, if you act with impunity, and you’re not being pursued by the law enforcement agencies, it’s very quickly going to become a crime of choice.’

He also warned that some peopletrafficking cases were not being properly investigated and voiced concerns at some slavery incidents not being reported as crimes.

Up to 13,000 people are potential victims of slavery in the UK, with the global trade in people estimated to cost £113billion.