BAT faces landmark legal case over Malawi families’ poverty wages – The Guardian

‘Human rights lawyers are preparing to bring a landmark case against British American Tobacco on behalf of hundreds of children and their families forced by poverty wages to work in conditions of gruelling hard labour in the fields of Malawi.’

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The Guardian, 31st October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Modern Slavery: 5 Ways To Know If A Company Is Serious About Tackling It – Rights Info

Posted October 24th, 2019 in consumer protection, forced labour, news by sally

‘Modern slavery exists, in large part, because of our buying habits. Because we want a bargain, businesses respond by offering low prices. To lower prices, businesses look for cheap labour, which has helped fuel the growth of international supply chains where goods and services are sourced from places where, among other things, labour is cheap and labour laws are lax.’

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Rights Info, 24th October 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Child slavery victims being lured back into exploitation due to lack of support amid surge in cases – The Independent

‘Child victims of modern slavery are being lured back into exploitation and falling into homelessness as cash-strapped local authorities struggle to cope with a surge in cases, charities have warned. Thousands of young people who have been trafficked and exploited, often by county lines gangs or through international criminal networks, are being left to navigate complex legal, education and immigration systems alone because austerity-hit services cannot adequately support them.’

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The Independent, 18th October 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Number of British modern slavery victims up 72% in a year, figures show – The Independent

Posted October 14th, 2019 in children, drug trafficking, forced labour, gangs, news, statistics by tracey

‘The number of British people identified as modern slavery victims has surged by 72 per cent in a year, according to figures, fuelling concerns about “county lines” drugs gangs and other forms of labour exploitation.’

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The Independent, 14th October 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Magistrates raise concerns over county lines defence ‘loophole’ – The Guardian

‘A legal defence for children who claim they are being exploited by county lines drug gangs needs to be monitored more closely, the Magistrates’ Association has warned.’

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The Guardian, 6th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Modern slavery: Are British victims being failed in the UK? – BBC News

Posted September 2nd, 2019 in drug trafficking, forced labour, homelessness, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘Michael was homeless when he was approached by a couple to sell drugs.’

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BBC News, 2nd September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CPS successfully prosecutes second major modern slavery case this month – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A father and son have today (29 July) been convicted for their roles in long-running conspiracy to exploit Eastern European workers they trafficked into the UK.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 29th July 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Home Office accused of covering up plight of hundreds of trafficking victims wrongly detained in immigration centres – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been accused of covering up the plight of hundreds of modern slavery victims after it was forced to disclose data it previously claimed to have “no record” of.’

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The Independent, 16th July 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Yarl’s Wood: Trafficking victims ‘detained for months’ – BBC News

Posted July 9th, 2019 in detention, forced labour, news, reports, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘The Home Office is “refusing to protect” victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, a report has said.’

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BBC News, 9th July 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK slavery network ‘had 400 victims’ – BBC News

‘Members of a gang behind the biggest modern-day slavery network ever exposed in the UK have been jailed.’

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BBC News, 5th July 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Home Office to lift cap on ‘inadequate’ help for trafficking victims – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been accused of “failing for years” in its legal obligation to support victims of trafficking after ministers admitted current provision falls short of what is needed.’

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The Independent, 1st July 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Woman who kept older woman captive found guilty of slavery offences – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted June 27th, 2019 in forced labour, news, prosecutions, theft by tracey

‘A woman who kept a vulnerable older woman captive and stole her pension money has been found guilty of slavery offences. Maria Miller, 64, exploited the woman, who was in her 70s, after encouraging her to come and live with her at her Chingford home. Miller manipulated the victim to perform chores in both the charity shop she ran and in her home. She also sent the victim on the streets to collect money for her charity whilst she was emptying the victim’s bank account.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 24th June 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Home Office payout for trafficked man detained in mistaken identity mix-up – The Guardian

‘Vietnamese national was illegally detained for five months after Home Office refused to accept he was not someone else.’

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The Guardian, 27th July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Domestic workers face heightened slavery risk in UK, warns EU study – The Guardian

Posted June 27th, 2019 in forced labour, human rights, news, reports by sally

‘An EU agency has highlighted the heightened risk of foreign domestic workers in the UK enduring slavery-like conditions but conceded its pan-European study of labour conditions had been impeded by “mafia networks”.’

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The Guardian, 25th June 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Father and son sentenced in slavery case – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A father and son who ran a scrap metal business have been jailed for a total of 21 years for repeatedly assaulting a vulnerable man being forced to work for them..’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 14th June 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Number of UK child slavery cases up by nearly 800% in two years, figures show – The Independent

‘Child slavery cases in the UK have surged by nearly 800 per cent in just two years, new figures show. Data published in the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme’s annual report show there were 475 police operations into child slavery in the UK last month, compared with 53 in April 2017.’

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The Independent, 22nd May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Nurses vote to back decriminalisation of prostitution – The Guardian

‘The union representing Britain’s nurses will start lobbying governments across the UK to decriminalise prostitution in order to safeguard sex workers and improve their health.’

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The Guardian, 20th May 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

First county lines drug dealing gang jailed using modern slavery laws – Daily Telegraph

‘Three drug dealers have become the first gang to be jailed under modern slavery laws for using children to traffic crack cocaine and heroin in so-called county lines operations.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th May 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Nottingham family sentenced over modern slavery – BBC News

Posted April 29th, 2019 in forced labour, news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Four members of the same family have been sentenced for modern slavery offences.’

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BBC News, 26th April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High court suspends Home Office policy limiting support for slavery victims – The Guardian

‘A high court judge has suspended a Home Office policy that cuts off after six weeks all statutory support to slavery victims in the UK, ruling that it risks causing “irreparable harm to very vulnerable individuals”.’

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The Guardian, 17th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com