Diana Johnson MP, Labour’s shadow home office minister, commenting on today’s slavery report said:

“Human trafficking and keeping people in slavery is one of the most heinous crimes. Men, women and children are being forced into prostitution, domestic work and physical labour in their thousands in our country. The scale of this crime is truly shocking and these figures show we should be doing much more to eradicate the evil gangs who perpetrate this crime.

"The government’s modern slavery bill was a step in the right direction - but serious issues were not addressed in the legislation. Firstly, there must be much more support for victims of human trafficking and slavery. This was the biggest gap in the government’s bill. Second, the government must look again at making serious exploitation a criminal offence. They voted against this just a few weeks ago. Finally, the government must reverse their decision to tie those people who come here on domestic workers visa to their employer - this makes it much harder for those facing abuse and not being paid to report this and leave.

“These figures should act as a wake-up call and the government should now look at strengthening their bill by accepting the changes Labour has called for.”