Public Law Solicitors

An urgent letter appealing for greater understanding and safeguarding of trafficking victims has been signed by Duncan Lewis Solicitors’ public law director Ahmed Aydeed.

The statement was created by a group of charities and inspired by the recent BBC documentary on Sir Mo Farah, in which he revealed his experiences as a victim of trafficking.

In the Real Mo Farah, the multi-gold medal winning long-distance runner, tells how he was brought to the UK at the age of nine and forced into domestic servitude.

He was given the name Mo Farah by those who brought him from Djibouti in East Africa. His birth name was Hussein Abdi Kahin.

Applauding Sir Mo for his bravery, the signatories call upon the Government to strengthen its identification and support systems, to ensure they help other victims come forward.

The letter says: “There must be a safeguarding first approach to all children in the UK no matter who they are, where they have come from or how they got here.”

The group, which includes charities such as Focus on Labour Exploitation and Safeguarding Children, says that under the current system, “many victims of trafficking, including those who were trafficked as children, will find themselves disbelieved, at risk of immigration detention, removal or incarceration at the hands of the authorities who should be proactive in offering protection”.

Sir Mo’s experience highlights the suffering caused to tens of thousands of men, women and children in the UK who are exploited and subjected to human trafficking or slavery and shows how hard disclosure can be, the letter says.

Ahmed is a director and solicitor who is ranked in the prestigious Legal 500 and Chamber legal guides and who is recognised as being “tireless in his efforts" to get "proper justice”. He has extensive specialist experience in advising individuals across all immigration and public law issues. He has established a broad practice in the areas of human rights, asylum, and international protections matters, as well as EU law, nationality law, administrative detention, and discrimination and child care proceedings and specialises in representing people in judicial review proceedings against the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Crown Court, and local authorities. His clients are predominantly refugees, trafficking and modern slavery victims, and vulnerable asylum-seekers.

Contact Ahmed for advice on all immigration and public matters via email on ahmeda@duncanlewis.com or via telephone 020 7275 2668.