Migrants abusing modern slavery laws, by claiming to be trafficking victims, are facing a government crackdown from today.
Tough new rules will make it harder for those who arrive here illegally, or are convicted of serious offences, to exploit the legal safeguards that exist to protect victims of modern slavery.
From today, the Home Office will be able to withhold protections from anyone sentenced to 12 months or more, or convicted of serious offences such as murder or terrorism, as part of a wider crackdown on illegal migrants.
The measures, announced by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, come amid mounting pressure from MPs from her own party to tackle the small boats crisis in the Channel.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman
Kirsty O'Connor
GB News has been told that on Sunday more than 200 Channel migrants crossed into UK waters.
It takes the total number who have arrived since the beginning of the year to more than 1,200.
The Home Secretary said: “We must stop people exploiting our immigration and asylum laws. And I am personally determined to crack down on those abusing the generosity of the British public and taking our country for a ride.
“It is totally unfair that genuine victims of modern slavery may be left waiting longer to receive the protections they need due to the flagrant abuse of the system.
“The changes coming into force will mean if you’ve committed an offence, we have the power to refuse your protections and kick you out of our country.”
Until today, if a foreign national offender claimed to be a victim of modern slavery, any action to remove them would be paused while their claim was considered.
The changes to the Nationality and Borders Act will now allow officials to prevent certain foreign criminals and anyone who has made false claims from accessing the protections provided by the National Referral Mechanism, the system that was strengthened under former Prime Minister Theresa May to help modern slavery victims.
Gareth Fuller
The Home Office said that guidance for case workers will also be updated, so that when reviewing a claim there should be objective evidence of modern slavery rather than “mere suspicion”.
Mrs May has publicly warned that a tightening of rules around modern slavery could create extra problems and undermine protections for victims.
However, the Government has been determined to introduce the crackdown in the face of growing abuses of the system.
Official figures show that in the first half of last year, 1,156 people who crossed the Channel claimed to be victims of modern slavery.
The majority of those who claimed to have been trafficked into slavery were Albanians. The figures for the second half of the year are expected to far higher.
