Poverty and technology fueling record levels of slavery in UK
The UK's independent anti-slavery commissioner has warned that record levels of exploitation have been fueled by the rising cost of living and new technology, with over 23,000 potential victims referred to the monitoring group in 2025. The report highlights that people trafficking, forced labour, and sexual exploitation will become harder to detect unless urgent action is taken against criminal networks.
The UK has seen a record number of potential modern slavery victims, with over 23,000 referrals in 2025, a 22% increase from the previous year. The independent anti-slavery commissioner attributes this rise to factors such as rising living costs, debt, and insecure work, as well as conflict and displacement worldwide. Artificial intelligence and digital platforms are also enabling traffickers to exploit victims on a larger scale. More than a fifth of potential victims in 2025 were UK nationals, followed by Eritrean and Vietnamese nationals. The report calls for urgent action, including funding for specialist police units and fines for businesses breaching anti-exploitation rules. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced to protect victims and prosecute offenders, but the commissioner believes the UK's response is not keeping pace with the scale and complexity of the threat.
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