London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Revealed: just 7% of trafficking victims given leave to remain in UK

Revealed: just 7% of trafficking victims given leave to remain in UK

Government accused of failing those at risk of falling back into traffickers’ hands in home countries
Only 7% of confirmed victims of trafficking from overseas have been granted leave to remain in the last five years according to new data disclosed to the Guardian.

A Home Office data shows that 447 out of 6,066 confirmed trafficking victims who requested leave to remain between April 2016 and June 2021 were granted it – 7%.

Meanwhile, 4,695 confirmed trafficking victims had their applications for leave to remain in the UK rejected, according to the response to a freedom of information response request by the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC). In the remainder of cases a decision is still pending.

The government has repeatedly pledged to protect trafficking victims. But charities have documented that some of those removed from the UK and returned to their home countries have fallen back into the hands of their traffickers or have been vulnerable to being picked up by new traffickers.

A landmark high court judgment in October 2021 said that all confirmed trafficking victims should be granted leave to remain in the UK. Ahmed Aydeed of Duncan Lewis Solicitors, the lawyer who brought the high court case, expressed concern about the new trafficking data. “Victims of trafficking, experience a profound loss of their sense of safety and security. A reliably safe environment is a pre-requisite for recovery. By refusing, en masse it seems, leave to remain to victims, the home secretary is re-traumatising survivors and putting them at risk of being re-trafficked.”

The SRC has also obtained freedom of information data which reveals that the delay in processing asylum claims has reached the highest figure for two decades with 83,733 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum claim with 56,520 of them – including 3,796 Afghans – waiting for more than six months for an initial decision.

The SRC says the newly released data is evidence of a system that is failing asylum seekers and victims of trafficking. They have shared the data ahead of the second reading of the nationality and borders bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday. SRC campaigners have urged the Lords to vote down the controversial bill which proposes “offshoring” asylum seekers to third countries while their claims are processed and imposing criminal penalties on asylum seekers who travel across the Channel in small boats to claim asylum in the UK.

The new bill also proposes narrowing the grounds for discretionary leave to remain for trafficking survivors which has led to fears among anti-trafficking campaigners that very few modern slavery survivors will be allowed to remain in the UK.

Graham O’Neil of the SRC said: “There is a real crisis in the chronically slow asylum decision system that awaits them. It entraps women, men and children into state-enforced poverty limbo for years. This is even when they are from high refugee recognition countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. We urge the Lords to dismantle the bill, and for the government to scrap it, and invest in swifter better asylum decisions.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “A significant proportion of asylum claims in the last year should have been made in a first safe country, rather than people risking their lives making dangerous crossings, facilitated by people smugglers.

“This, as well as an overall increase in claims, has led to asylum applications taking longer to be resolved and impaired our ability to focus resources on those who come to the UK via safe and legal routes and are in genuine need of our protection.

“The government is committed to tackling modern slavery and providing support and protection to the victims of this heinous crime. The nationality and borders bill will go further than ever before in putting modern slavery victims’ rights into law, including granting temporary leave to remain for victims.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×