Modern slavery cases reach record high in UK

The number of potential modern slavery victims in Britain rose to a record last year, official statistics showed on Thursday, highlighting a growing crime that experts say requires the government to undertake urgent policy reforms.

Home Office figures showed there were 19,125 referrals of potential victims into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) — Britain's system for identifying and protecting victims — in 2024, surpassing the 2023 record of about 17,000.

Modern slavery, which can include human trafficking, slavery, servitude or forced labour, has been rising globally due to a mix of poverty, conflict and migration, affecting millions of people.

The crime takes various forms in Britain, where men, women and children can be forced into exploitive work in the drug or sex trades, car washes, nail salons, private homes or the social care sector.

“These statistics are not just numbers, they are individuals with voices, voices that the government needs to listen to,” said Britain's independent anti-slavery commissioner Eleanor Lyons.

“A cross-government modern slavery strategy is needed that will enable law enforcement to prioritise tackling this crime.”

The real number of people living in modern slavery in Britain is  about 130,000, according to human rights group Anti-Slavery International.

Around 23% of the referrals into the NRM were British, the top nationality, while Albanians were second at 13%, followed by Vietnamese at 11%. About 31%, or nearly 6,000, were children.

Charities and politicians have urged Britain to change its approach to tackling modern slavery, by ensuring stronger enforcement of labour laws and reforming immigration policy, which has focused on stopping illegal migration.

Tougher immigration policies are leaving thousands of people trapped in modern slavery and less likely to come forward for fear of being deported, Reuters reported last month.

“Today's figures reinforce a crucial point: modern slavery is a crime against individuals and must not be conflated with immigration offences,” Lyons said.

The government has pledged to hire dozens more case workers to process claims for support in the NRM. More than 17,000 people were waiting for a second-stage decision on their claim at the end of last year, official data showed. 

Reuters