Number of potential trafficking victims locked up in UK triples in four years

NGOs say Home Office is detaining more trafficking victims as figures show vast majority of claimants are genuine

The number of potential trafficking victims who have been detained by the Home Office has tripled in four years, according to a new report.

In 2017 501 referrals for potential victims of trafficking were made among people the Home Office placed in immigration detention centres. By last year the number of referrals of potential victims who had been detained had jumped to 1,611.