Human Trafficking

I welcome the successful prosecution in Harrow Crown Court of four individuals for the trafficking of six British women. There are reports of around 218,000 people going missing in Britain every year and in my view for too long the police have focused on human trafficking into Britain, ignoring trafficking out of Britain. I have met and challenged the police office leading the investigation into human trafficking in the UK on exactly this point. His initial response was that once removed from the country the crime took place in another country and British police could not act. I pointed out that kidnapping was an offence in this country as was seeking to take women out of the country for sexual exploitation. While he acknowledged this was a known problem he was at a loss what the police could do in this country once someone had been taken out of the country.

I hope this success represents a sea change in the attitude of British policing on this issue, and a more pro-active approach is being undertaken now, as this is accepted as being the fastest growing form of slavery today. The Labour Government's delay in signing up to the Convention on Human Trafficking on Britain's behalf was deeply shaming especially as it was our country that led the world in campaigning to abolish slavery. The Serious Organised Crime Agency's focus on the victims is commendable and was a stark contrast to the previous government's confusion between victims and illegal immigrants.