Thousands of modern slavery victims would be ‘abandoned’ under small boats bill, former watchdog warns

Rishi Sunak’s plan to deport small boat migrants will see thousands of modern slavery victims “abandoned” as the gangs abusing them go free, a former watchdog has warned.

The Illegal Migration Bill would disqualify trafficking victims who arrive in the UK illegally from receiving support and allow them to be deported while officials are still investigating their claims.

More than 6,000 people have been flagged to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for modern slavery victims since 2018, including 2,700 in 2022 alone. Home Office officials found that 85 per cent had “reasonable grounds” to be accepted as a victim of human trafficking, slavery, servitude or forced labour.

Dame Sara Thornton, the former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, told The Independent that denying modern slavery victims protection on the basis of how they arrived in Britain “is not compatible with the European Convention Against Trafficking nor the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR)”.

“It shows no understanding of the horror of human trafficking and abandons extremely vulnerable victims of serious crime,” she added.

The number of people arriving on small boats to the UK rose by 60 per cent between 2021 and 2022, to 46,000. The government has tried twice in the past four years to solve the problem, while thousands of arrivals are having to be accommodated in hotels at huge expense. The new bill and a deal with France to stop small boats from leaving French shores is the latest bid to curb the growing numbers.

There is an exception in the law if the home secretary “considers it necessary” for a victim to remain in the UK while they are cooperating with an investigation into their alleged slavery or trafficking. But officials are concerned that victims could be deported before they can inform British authorities that they have been trafficked, and that the new measures will make them fear reporting gangs to the police.

“Despite the fact that there is an exception for those cooperating with an investigation or criminal proceedings, it will deter victims who know they have entered the country illegally from coming forward,” Dame Sara said.

Maya Esslemont, director of the After Exploitation organisation, said that victims need to recover before “going through the difficult process of reliving trauma” as a witness in a criminal investigation. “It is wrong to essentially leverage victim support in exchange for compliance with the criminal justice system, at a time when basic forms of support such as safe housing and counselling are not a guarantee for those who come forward,” she told The Independent.

Ms Esslemont raised concerns that if the police do not pursue investigations into traffickers and drop a case, victims may be “penalised for the state’s failure”.

Patrick Ryan, chief executive of the Hestia charity, said: “We work with thousands of survivors each year, and we have seen no evidence to suggest that modern slavery support processes are being exploited by individuals seeking asylum in the UK. We need to be tougher on the organised criminals who are exploiting vulnerable people, not on the victims.”

The home secretary has admitted in a formal statement that the bill may breach the ECHR, and government documents list the “prohibition of slavery” and “prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment” among the clauses threatened.

Scottish National Party MP Joanna Cherry, who chairs parliament’s human rights committee, claimed the bill was “designed to breach” the ECHR in support of an argument for ditching it. “Universal human rights are under attack in the UK like never before,” she told The Independent.

“It is widely believed that Tories plan to clash with the European Court of Human Rights and then to fight the next election on the platform of withdrawing from the convention. They will tell voters that the problems posed by tens of thousands of asylum seekers entering the UK cannot be solved without doing this. It’s a desperate last throw of the dice to stave off defeat at the next general election by weaponising the fears stoked over ‘illegal’ migration and ‘invasions’.”

Many small boat migrants found to have “reasonable grounds” for modern slavery claims remain in a backlog of NRM cases but of those finalised, 85 per cent were accepted as victims.

The statistics question the home secretary’s repeated claims that modern slavery protections are being “gamed” by small boat migrants, and the Office for Statistics Regulation has warned that available figures do not support the assertions.

But while unveiling the new law on Tuesday, Suella Braverman told parliament: “Modern slavery laws are being abused to block removals. That is why this bill disqualifies illegal entrants from using modern slavery rules to prevent removal.”

The government has drawn up the bill with no slavery watchdog in place, having left the post empty since Dame Sara’s term ended in April. Ms Braverman scrapped a previous appointment process in December and the timetable of a new recruitment round means that a commissioner will not be in place while the Illegal Migration Bill undergoes parliamentary scrutiny.

Of the 83,236 people who arrived in the UK on small boats between 2018 and the end of last year, only 7 per cent were referred to the National Referral Mechanism as modern slaves but the vast majority claimed asylum.

Albanians have made up the highest number of NRM referrals for small boat migrants since 2018, although Vietnamese and Sudanese people have a higher referral rate, and the figure for Eritreans and Ethiopians is the same (13 per cent).

Those with reasonable grounds decisions are given accommodation, financial support, legal aid and medical treatment while pending a conclusive grounds decision. If received, they are given 45 days of “move-on” support aiming to help them recover and transition into a new life.