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

Rise in young people identified as victims of ‘county lines’ gangs contributes to rise, say charities

Recent research by the charity Unseen reveals that 7 per cent of all cases reported to its helpline involve a homeless victim (iStock)

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.

An analysis of data by The Independent shows the number of UK nationals recorded as being potential victims of trafficking increased from 1,246 in 2017-18 to 2,143 in 2018-19 – with the proportion of all victims who are British up from 21 per cent to 26 per cent in one year.

Campaigners said the rise was likely to be down to the growing number of victims being identified as having been exploited through county lines activity, in which gangs traffic drugs into rural areas, as well as exploitation that continues to occur in farms, car washes and nail bars.

The Salvation Army, a charity contracted by the Home Office to provide safe housing and support to modern slavery victims, said it had seen a 58 per cent rise in British nationals entering its service in the last year.

The charity said the number of UK victims who had been enslaved through labour exploitation, which includes forced criminality, rose by 63 per cent between July 2018 to June 2019, and was by far the most common type of exploitation, accounting for 48 per cent of cases.

As well as highlighting the scale of county lines exploitation, the findings will fuel concern that rough sleepers are being coerced into exploitative situations, with recent research by the charity Unseen revealing 7 per cent of all cases reported to its helpline involve a homeless victim.

Jakub Sobik, of Anti-Slavery International said: “These numbers show that nationality of people targeted to be exploited doesn’t matter, all it takes is finding vulnerable people and a way to trap and exploit them.

“The county lines practice is particularly disturbing. Children are attracted by gifts and promises of flashy life, but soon get trapped in the drug crime and can face extreme violence if they want to leave."

He said the services designed to "spot the signs early", such as teachers, doctors and social workers, were "very underfunded", adding: "We need to reverse that.“

Emily Kenway, senior advisor at Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), said that considering the UK’s “woeful failure” to fund labour inspection adequately, it was not a surprise that exploitation was “rife and rising”.

She added that, while the increase was in a sense positive because it showed police were recognising that county lines drug running may include victims of trafficking, “more must be done to prevent exploitation from occurring in the first place”.

It comes amid warnings that Brexit uncertainty could lead to the closure of the UK’s modern slavery helpline, leaving thousands of trafficking victims across the country in exploitative situations.

Unseen, the charity that runs the helpline, said sustained political uncertainty and a tough economic period – created in large part by Brexit – had contributed to a drop in funding, forcing it to launch an emergency appeal to avert closure.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.