PRESS RELEASE - A new Home Office report has revealed the staggering number of people in the UK who are still trapped by modern slavery.

Modern Slavery Strategy revealed up to 13,000 people across the country are currently victims – a number four times higher than was previously thought to be the case.

The figure is the first official Government estimate of how many people trapped by slavery across the UK.

The strategy document, unveiled by Home Secretary Theresa May on Saturday, is based around four P’s: pursue, prevent, protect, prepare.

It is designed to complement the Modern Slavery Bill, which is currently passing through committee stage in the House of Lords and could be passed into law by the end of January.

CARE previously welcomed the bill but has also urged the Government to strengthen it as a piece of legislation because in its current form, it does not go nearly far enough.

CARE Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Policy Officer Louise Gleich said:

“This report highlights the horrible reality of how extensive modern slavery in Britain actually is.

“Sadly it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking slavery doesn’t really exist in Britain anymore but this new figure shatters that perception and sends a clear signal that action is required.

“The proposed Modern Slavery Bill should not been seen as the end of the fight against human trafficking, but just the beginning.

“The Government needs to be open to the idea of strengthening the Modern Slavery Bill because currently, the legislation simply does not go far enough.

“As the Home Secretary said, the start of tackling modern slavery is by admitting its existence.

“Now that has been done we need to see a robust piece of legislation that will tackle the problem of modern slavery at its root.”