Government ‘totally misguided in attacks on rights of slavery victims’

The Government is “totally misguided” to attack the rights of slavery victims – and plans for legal reforms could reduce protections for victims, two former commissioners warned.

Dame Vera Baird, who left her post as Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales on Friday, said plans to potentially curtail modern slavery laws outlined by the Home Secretary would “reverse” previous Tory pledges to support them and may “shatter the faith” of other victims of crime.

Dame Sara Thornton, who finished her term as Anti-Slavery Commissioner in April, said more legislation risks being “ineffective in achieving its aim, but more importantly reduces protection of victims”.

It comes as Suella Braverman told the Conservative Party conference: “The hard truth is that our modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system” as she indicated reforms may be needed.

Both commissioner positions are currently sitting vacant, with replacements for the roles yet to be found. But “given the proposals on the table, both need to be filled urgently”, Dame Sara said.

Ms Braverman told delegates: “We’ve seen a 450% increase in modern slavery claims since 2014.

“Today, the largest group of small boats migrants are from Albania – a safe country. Many of them claim to be trafficked as modern slaves. That’s despite them having paid thousands of pounds to come here, or having willingly taken a dangerous journey across the Channel.

“The truth is that many of them are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked are lies.”

She also highlighted “egregious examples of convicted paedophiles and rapists trying to game the system” by making last-minute claims of modern slavery to “block their removal from our country”, adding: “Some have even gone on to commit further crimes in the interim.”

Dame Vera told the PA news agency: “Nobody is treated as a victim of modern slavery unless the government’s own dedicated frontline decision-makers say that they are. Many have been violently forced into slave labour or sexual exploitation. They are severely traumatised and like other victims of violent and sexual crime need support to cope and recover.

“Attacking their rights would reverse the headline Tory policy of supporting them begun by Theresa May and would shatter the faith of other victims of crime that they would be helped. Is there any reason for the government not to appoint a new modern slavery commissioner to advise them on this or do they not want independent spokespeople for victims?”

Dame Sara said she found, from data obtained through freedom of information laws, that less than 4% (1,099) of people who crossed the Channel in 2021 (28,526) were referred as potential victims of modern slavery under the National Referral Mechanism.

She told PA: “If we are going to change the policy on the basis that the Modern Slavery Act is being abused I think the Government needs to give us much better information and data, so we can have a proper public discussion.”

A recruitment process is ongoing for both commissioner roles.

According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), final interviews are expected to take place in December for candidates for the victims post, which suggests the role may not be filled until next year.

It is understood options including appointing an interim commissioner have been presented to ministers for consideration.

Dame Sara said when she left her post five months ago, she was told there were two candidates in the running to be the next Anti-Slavery commissioner – but nothing has happened since.

When asked what progress had been made in appointing a successor, the Home Office said a “fair and open recruitment campaign is underway for the new anti-slavery commissioner and it would be inappropriate to comment any further while this process is ongoing”.

London’s Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman told PA: “Plans to reform key legislation such as the Modern Slavery Act cause me great concern at a time when the independent voices which listen to victims’ experiences and hold Government to account are absent.

“The interests of modern slavery victims should be front and centre of any changes to this legislation, and we must ensure their voices are not being wilfully neglected in order to progress reforms with the potential to criminalise vulnerable people and defy our international obligations”.

Charlie Whelton, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said the Home Secretary’s plans to “water down” modern slavery laws will “put more people at risk of harm”.

Sonya Sceats, chief executive of Freedom from Torture, said: “Rather than showing compassion to survivors of the worst human cruelty, Suella Braverman wants to make their situation worse. The sidelining of survivors’ needs is precisely why the Government’s own victims’ commissioner resigned in disgust last week.”

Campaign group After Exploitation said there is “no reason for victims to abuse a system which offers no guaranteed support, safe housing, or immigration protection to victims”.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said Ms Braverman had “inherited a dysfunctional and oppressive immigration system that now makes thousands of people much more vulnerable to labour, sex and other cruel exploitation” and instead of correcting the “dreadful mess”, she was “promising to further undermine the laws intended to safeguard people from those abuses”.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, described the move as “more potentially dangerous tinkering based on rhetoric when what is desperately needed is fresh thinking to both support people seeking asylum having fled war, persecution and conflict and to create a system which is fair and compassionate and can command the confidence of the public”.