Britain is failing to protect victims of modern slavery | Letter

Original article by

Your article (Modern slavery at record levels in UK and expected to worsen, report warns, 5 May)( reflects a deeply troubling reality also seen by the UK’s modern slavery helpline. Cases of exploitation climbed to their highest level on record with a 41% increase in 2025, according to a recent helpline report. As a consortium of leading anti-slavery organisations has warned, the UK is failing to keep pace with the scale of exploitation, leaving too many victims without protection and too many perpetrators beyond reach. The UK is increasingly becoming a low‑risk, high-reward environment for traffickers and exploiters.

A shared vision for the next decade sets out practical steps: stronger corporate accountability, a more effective criminal justice response, a survivor‑centred system and a coordinated national strategy to tackle child exploitation.

This is not about incremental reform but a coordinated, system-wide shift backed by political will and sustained investment. The picture is bleak, but not without hope. With decisive leadership, the UK can move beyond mismanaging modern slavery to ending it.
Andrew Wallis
CEO, Unseen

• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.