Home Office’s ‘hostile environment on steroids’ sees failure to check detained migrants for signs of slavery and trafficking

One expert says the many missed opportunities to identify and investigate links to exploitation demonstrates a lack of political will to tackle the issue, despite strong rhetoric from the Government.  

Two reports published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on Border Force-run facilities around the UK found staff are not uniformly carrying out necessary interviews to determine if detainees are modern slavery victims.

An unannounced inspection in September of facilities processing migrants arriving primarily via small-boat crossings also raised concerns about staff failing to report trafficking concerns through the modern slavery pathway, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

The reports make multiple references to abridged screening interviews, often taking place too late, and without privacy or adequate interpretation support. 

The Inspectorate found staff “had not reported any modern slavery concerns”, while the Home Office could not provide follow-up data on any NRM referrals made during a period when more than 2,000 people passed through two of the facilities inspected

Safeguarding risks

The Inspectorate told JPI Media its report showed “a significant number of people were not given a full screening interview” over the summer period when channel crossings reached a high. This, it said, could mean that ‘vulnerabilities and safeguarding risks’ were missed. 

Andrew Wallis, chief executive officer of charity Unseen, says “it’s really important that we do screen correctly” in these facilities, so that cases of modern slavery can be identified and investigated.

The High Court also weighed in on the issue late last year, after three potential trafficking victims were detained and almost deported without the opportunity to disclose safeguarding issues.