Number of illegal migrants claiming to be modern slaves to avoid deportation ‘skyrockets’
An increasing number of modern slavery claims have been rejected by courts.
Number of migrants claiming to be victims of modern slavery to avoid deportation has allegedly risen (Image: Getty)
The number of migrants claiming to be victims of modern slavery to avoid deportation has reportedly risen by 250% in four years. It has been reported that in 2024 there were 4,646 modern slavery referrals, up 250% from 1,307 in 2020.
Sixty-five percent of referrals in 2024 were deemed to have no reasonable grounds compared with 16% four years earlier. The figures suggest some asylum seekers are attempting to game the system, using laws meant to protect people who have been exploited.
The figures, obtained by The Sun on Sunday, were reported as showing an increasing number of claims have been rejected by the courts.
An Eritrean man was deported to France on Friday after losing a High Court bid to have his removal under the Government’s “one in, one out” scheme temporarily blocked.
The migrant arrived in the UK on a small boat last month and brought a claim against the Home Office last Thursday ahead of his scheduled removal from the UK at 6.15am on Friday (September 19).
At a hearing in London, his barristers asked for “interim relief” ahead of a full legal challenge against the decision to deport him.
They said the decision was “procedurally unfair” as he had not been given sufficient opportunity to put forward evidence supporting his claim that he was an “alleged trafficking victim”.
The Home Office opposed the bid to temporarily block the removal, telling the court that there was “no serious issue to be tried”.
Mr Justice Sheldon said that there was “significant public interest in favour of the claimant’s removal”.
He also said the man gave differing accounts of his allegations of trafficking, describing a second account as “so different from the initial account provided”.
To date, three men have been deported under the “one-in, one-out” deal, while over 30,000 people have arrived on small boats so far this year. More than 1,000 made the crossing on Friday alone.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is carrying out an urgent review of the Modern Slavery Act to assess whether it is open to abuse.
She said last week: “Migrants suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal, having never made such a claim before, make a mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity.
“I will fight to end vexatious, last-minute claims. I will robustly defend the British public’s priorities in any court. And I will do whatever it takes to secure our border.”
The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons condemned the Home Secretary’s comments.
Shabana Mahmood says she will fight to end ‘vexatious claims’ (Image: Getty)
She said Ms Mahmood’s words “have a real-life impact on victims of exploitation, who may now be more scared to come forward and talk about what’s happened to them”.
Ms Lyons told the BBC: “The Home Office are the deciders in this country on whether someone is a victim of modern slavery. They have the final decision-making.
“Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords select committees have looked at this issue in recent years, and they found there’s no misuse of the system.
“It puts vulnerable lives at risk when the Home Secretary is claiming that is the case.”
Senior Treasury minister James Murray rejected suggestions that Labour had forgotten its values as he faced questions from broadcasters about the Government response.
He told Sky News: “As a Government, we’re responding to what’s important to people in the UK, and people have said, and people are right to feel angry about the level of illegal migration.
“People are right to feel they want hotels to close. People are right to feel they want the Government to do more on this, and that’s exactly why we’re doing more on this.”
