The UK Border Force is “missing thousands of victims of modern slavery at our borders” and identified and convicted only one trafficker last year, according to a damning inquiry report by two official watchdogs.
The “significant failings” by Border Force uncovered by the investigation was published just a day after the prime minister, Theresa May, told MPs the introduction of the first law to tackle modern slavery was one of her proudest achievements in government.
The joint report by David Bolt, the chief inspector of borders, and Kevin Hyland, the anti-slavery commissioner, says there were 3,266 potential victims in 2015, 94% of whom came from outside Britain. Yet Border Force identified just 265 potential victims at the border during six months last year and only 57 of them were given official help.
“There is a strong chance we are missing thousands of victims of modern slavery at our borders,” said the anti-slavery commissioner.
“We must urgently improve our response, regardless of how challenging it is. If Border Force identified 265 potential victims at the border between April and November last year, as outlined in the report, and yet only 57 entered government funded support, what happened to the remaining 208?”
The report says that May’s Modern Slavery Act, which became law in March 2015, recognised Border Force as the lead agency for targeting and disrupting traffickers and identifying potential victims at the border.
The inspectors say that considerable effort had gone into training frontline border staff in tackling modern slavery and there were pockets of good practice but some officers told the inspectors the training had only been “a tick-box exercise” and not all frontline officers had received it at the time of the inspection.
With an estimated 13,000 victims in the UK, the inspectors say Border Force’s annual targets to identify victims at the border have been modest “while the number of suspected traffickers identified and referred for investigation have been low by any standards”.
The report says that Border Force had identified and convicted just one suspected trafficker in 2014 and one in 2015/16.
Border Force officers have “a unique opportunity” to identify potential modern slavery victims as they enter the UK but they face local management pressure to keep the passport queues moving. The majority of victims look to get through the passport check unnoticed either through fear of their traffickers, or of uniformed officials, or because they don’t recognise themselves as victims.
The report suggests that even when potential victims are identified only a small proportion are given help through the national referral mechanism.
“The majority of adults identified by Border Force as potential victims refused their consent to being referred to the NRM. Officers offered a number of explanations for this, including a distrust of authority and the potential victim themselves not realising they may be at risk of exploitation. These ring true, but the evidence is largely anecdotal,” the report says.
The chief inspector of borders and immigration said the Home Office had accepted the majority of his recommendations and was committed to making improvements in the next few months.
“During 2017/18, I also intend to inspect how the other Home Office borders and immigration directorates are dealing with potential victims of modern slavery, working again with the anti-slavery commissioner. Where relevant, I expect to see that the lessons and recommendations from this inspection have been implemented in those directorates,” said Bolt.
A Home Office spokesperson said the department was already taking action to address key issues raised by the inspection report, saying: “This government is leading the world in confronting the scourge of modern slavery including through the groundbreaking Modern Slavery Act.
“Border Force has a key role to play in identifying and protecting victims and stopping the callous criminals who exploit them. This work takes place not only at the UK border but in targeted operations at sea and working with law enforcement agencies at home and around the world. But we are determined to do more and continue to improve our response.”
