Legal News

The number of children being trafficked into the UK in the last year has risen by 47%, according to figures released by the National Crime Agency under the National Referral Mechanism. A total of 1,746 people were referred as victims of trafficking, the figures show.

It is reported that one-quarter of those trafficked in 2013 were children – and the number of children trafficked for sexual exploitation purposes rose by 11% to 88 in 2013.

Illegal immigrants brought to the UK by trafficking gangs can travel for several years before reaching Britain’s shores in lorries entering the UK at major ports like Dover.

People trafficked from countries like Vietnam include young children, who endure stopovers in Russia and other countries before being brought to the UK. Many are transported in inhumane conditions, including small crates where they eat and sleep and which they also have to use as a lavatory.

Often people trafficked are considered slaves by the gangmasters who traffic them – and end up working as bonded slaves in the sex trade in Britain or in cannabis factories to repay their debt to the traffickers. Families may have paid thousands of pounds to gangs to traffick a family member into the UK, in the hope they will be educated or find a secure a job which will enable them to repay the money and send funds back to their families in their country of origin.

The Border Agency is introducing anti-trafficking units at major UK airports – starting with London’s Heathrow and Gatwick – in a bid to recognise victims of trafficking.

The rise in the number of people being brought into the UK in lorries through ports like Dover has also led to calls for more surveillance at ports to detect victims of trafficking.

In 2011, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre estimated that around 300 children are trafficked into the UK every year. In the same year, Home Office figures showed that the top country for people being trafficked into the UK was Nigeria, followed by Vietnam, Romania, China, Uganda and Slovakia.

In 2012, a report by the Council of Europe’s Greta (Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings) said that a significant number of children trafficked to the UK who are later placed in Local Authority care go missing from council care homes – and called for better training for care home supervisors or more foster carers to look after them.

On Tuesday (04/03/14), the Joint Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill discussed whether there should be separate offences for child slavery, to differentiate between cases involving sexual abuse and those in which children are not sexually exploited.

The aim of the draft Bill is to “consolidate and simplify” existing criminal offences relating to slavery and human trafficking – as well as introducing civil orders to restrict the activities of those involved in or convicted of slavery and trafficking offences.

Ministers will also recommend the appointment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner to encourage good practice in “the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution” of modern slavery offences.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors can advise on illegal entry into the UK, as well as detention pending removal from the UK.

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors are experts in asylum cases and asylum appeals – and Duncan Lewis is also a leading provider of Legal Aid services in the UK.

For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum – or illegal entry into the UK – contact Duncan Lewis solicitors on 020 7923 4020.