Magistrates call for close monitoring of defence claims by county lines victims

Concerns raised over appropriate use of legal defence for youths exploited by drug gangs

A legal defence for children who claim they are being exploited by county lines drug gangs needs to be monitored more closely, the Magistrates' Association has warned.

Judicial concern about the way section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act operates has emerged as gang violence escalates and the government focuses on the disproportionate outcomes for ethnic minority defendants in the criminal justice system.