‘No supply chain safe from slave labour’

A REVIEW prompted by the UK’s “biggest” modern trafficking gang has found that “no supply chain is safe from slavery”.

Eight people were jailed in July last year following an investigation dubbed ‘Operation Fort’, which was described by the prosecuting barrister as “the largest ever to be undertaken in Europe”.

Victims were lured from Poland to the West Midlands and forced into terrible conditions working in factories, farms and warehouses, many of which supplied – unbeknownst to them – large UK retailers.

Anti-slavery Commissioner Dame Sara Thornton said that, following the case, she wrote to the CEOs of 10 UK supermarkets and five hardware companies, saying they had “a role to play in identifying and preventing exploitation”.

Many companies have since put in tougher measures to ensure slavery is not going undetected and playing any role in their supply chain.

Lessons to be learned, according to the review, included recruitment agencies carrying out “more effective checks” to detect anomalies such as employees sharing bank details, as well as better educating workforces to spot signs their colleagues may be victims of slavery.

The report said: “The criminal network behind Operation Fort was active before the passing of the Modern Slavery Act and continued for years after. If it is to teach us anything, it is that no supply chain is safe from modern slavery, and that UK based organisations cannot afford to be complacent about their domestic operations, even when addressing high profile atrocities overseas.”