More than 150 potential slavery victims in Nottinghamshire last year – as plans to restrict claims revealed

Anti-slavery charities are now calling on the Government to stop ‘distracting attention from the real criminals’.

It comes after former Home Secretary Suella Braverman received criticism for attributing the increase in modern slavery victims to migrants ‘gaming the system’ by claiming asylum as victims of slavery, and reclassifying the crime as an ‘illegal immigration and asylum’ issue, rather than a safeguarding one.

The latest Home Office figures show 180 potential modern slavery cases were referred to Nottinghamshire Police for investigation in the year to June – up from 173 the year before – with 83 involving children.

Across the UK, modern slavery referrals for suspected victims have risen.

There were 14,600 in the year to June, and 5,800 of them were children, up from 11,600 and 5,200 respectively the year before.

Revealing plans to crack down on what she sees as fraudulent claims for asylum under the Modern Slavery Act, Ms Braverman said: “The truth is many of them are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked are lies.”

Since the new Home Office was formed, modern slavery has been listed as an ‘illegal immigration and asylum’ issue, overseen by the immigration minister, rather than under the safeguarding minister as before.

Anti-slavery charity Unseen said the numbers show there is still a long way to go to eradicate slavery in the UK and called on the Government to ‘stop conflating modern slavery and immigration’.

Andrew Wallis, of Unseen, said: “The Government has provided no evidence asylum seekers are gaming the system and by putting out such spurious claims without facts or context is verging on irresponsible.

“The result is we’re treating vulnerable people as criminals when they most need our help, and distracting attention from the real criminals behind slavery and trafficking.”

The Home Office said it is ‘committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery’ and the National Referral Mechanism will continue to function in the same way, but a spokesman added: “It is clear people are abusing our system when they have no right to be here in order to frustrate their removal.”