"Modern slavery by “ruthless” county lines gangs doubled during lockdown, figures show"

Comments by Dame Sara feature in an article in the Telegraph about an increase in referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for victims of county lines. 

"Modern slavery by “ruthless” county lines gangs doubled during lockdown, figures show" (the Telegraph, 17/09/20) 

"Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner urged police forces [to] make sure that they are not allowing criminals to get away with modern slavery by prosecuting them purely for drug offences.

'When organised crime groups are deliberately exploiting children and vulnerable adults to carry drugs, it is essential that they are prosecuted for trafficking human beings as well as illicit substances,' she told the Telegraph.

'Concern about the backlog of cases in the Crown Courts should not be used to stop this from happening. I urge police and prosecutors to ensure that cases of exploitation are effectively prosecuted as Parliament intended under the Modern Slavery Act, so that justice can be done for some of the most vulnerable in our society.'"
 

You can read the full article here.