Claims of asylum seekers abusing modern slavery safeguards lack evidence, Bright Blue report concludes

A detailed new report published by the centre-right think tank Bright Blue has concluded that claims of widespread abuse of the UK's modern slavery protections by asylum seekers are not supported by evidence, despite a sharp rise in referrals in recent years.

The 109-page report, Properly protected: Reducing victims and abuses of modern slavery in the UK's asylum system, can be downloaded here. It examines trends and challenges in modern slavery and human trafficking within the asylum system and assesses how effectively victims are identified and supported.

The report notes that referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK's framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery, reached a record 19,125 in 2024, with confirmed victims also rising substantially. Bright Blue says that higher referral numbers do not in themselves demonstrate abuse, highlighting that asylum seekers cannot self-refer into the NRM, that referral rarely leads to settlement, and that more than 90% of NRM referrals from immigration detention received an initial positive decision prior to the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. On this basis, the authors dispute suggestions made by successive Home Secretaries that modern slavery protections are being widely misused as a way to delay removal from the UK.

In September, for example, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said asylum seekers facing removal to France were making "vexatious, last-minute claims" of modern slavery. She commented: "Migrants suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal, having never made such a claim before, make a mockery of our laws and this country's generosity."

Bright Blue's report states: "The current Labour Government believes there is some abuse of [modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT)] protections by those asylum seekers in detention awaiting removal, as a final attempt to stay in the UK longer. However, the high level of positive reasonable grounds decisions from referrals to the NRM from detention suggests this is not happening on a large scale, unless the decision-making process is flawed."

While the number of positive reasonable grounds decisions has decreased since the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 tightened eligibility criteria, the report notes that this is not yet reflected in the number of positive conclusive grounds decisions, due to the significant delays in the NRM process.

In chapter 5, the report explains why potential victims might not disclose their experiences of modern slavery until later, including due to fear, trauma, distrust of officials or lack of understanding about the support available.

The report highlights: "A victim's willingness or ability to disclose — that is, to come forward and communicate their experiences of MSHT either to a first responder or other public official — and their consent to being referred to the NRM by a first responder are essential for them to access the NRM and its associated support services. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why victims may be unable or unwilling to undertake either step. These include a dependency on the persons exploiting them, a fear of the stigma associated with being a trafficking victim, a fear that family or friends may be punished if they come forward, or a lack of trust in public authorities. Moreover, potential victims often struggle to make informed decisions about entering the NRM due to insufficient legal advice, language barriers, or not realising that they are victims. Indeed, according to a survey of police officers for the Centre for Social Justice, the failure among victims of MSHT to recognise themselves as such was the largest single reason for their non-cooperation with authorities (69%) ahead of fear of their exploiters (62%), and of the authorities (50%)."

The report also identifies and details numerous significant weaknesses in the current system, including inconsistent identification of victims, long delays in decision-making, limited long-term support after victims exit the NRM, and low prosecution rates for modern slavery offences. It further finds that compliance by businesses with supply-chain reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 remains uneven and weakly enforced.

Bright Blue proposes a package of reforms aimed at strengthening protections for genuine victims while reducing the risk of misuse. These include tougher enforcement of supply-chain reporting rules, improved training and clearer responsibilities for organisations that refer victims to the NRM, more detailed publication of referral and decision data, and the introduction of a capped, time-limited visa for confirmed victims modelled on the US T visa. The report also recommends introducing tighter rules on referrals from detention, but only after improvements to identification and training are in place.

Dr William Prescott, Senior Research Fellow of Bright Blue and co-author of the report, noted: "There are fears that the UK's modern slavery system is being abused by asylum seekers, including by successive Home Secretaries. There is little evidence to suggest it is being widely abused by asylum seekers. But we do need reform of our modern slavery system for asylum seekers: one that guards against any abuses, however small in scale, but also ensures the vulnerable get the support they need and deserve."