Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May):

Modern slavery is a brutal crime which knows no boundaries and does not discriminate on gender, age, creed, culture or race. Traffickers and slave masters exploit whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment. This is simply unacceptable in modern society. We will not, and cannot let this continue.

18 October is Anti-slavery Day and to mark this important date the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Modern Slavery published a statement on UK activity.

The statement highlights the UK’s ongoing commitment, across all administrations, to tackling this horrendous crime. It sets out legislative and non-legislative activity underway to reduce the threat posed by slave drivers and traffickers, and to improve the identification and protection of victims. A copy of the statement will be placed in the House library.