Up to 13,000 working as slaves in UK

Government launches strategy to end slavery as number of victims found to be up to four times higher than thought

A young Lithuanian woman who was a victim of trafficking and forced into prostitution in the UK. Photograph: Karen Robinson for the Guardian

Between 10,000 and 13,000 people in Britain are victims of slavery, up to four times the number previously thought, analysis for the government has found.

The figure for 2013 is the first time the government has made an official estimate of the scale of modern slavery in the UK, and includes women forced into prostitution, domestic staff, and workers in fields, factories and fishing.

The National Crime Agency’s Human Trafficking Centre had previously put the number of slavery victims in 2013 at 2,744.

Launching the government’s strategy to eradicate modern slavery, the home secretary, Theresa May, said the scale of abuse was shocking.

“The first step to eradicating the scourge of modern slavery is acknowledging and confronting its existence,” she said. “The estimated scale of the problem in modern Britain is shocking and these new figures starkly reinforce the case for urgent action.”

The data was collated from sources including the police, the UK Border Force, charities and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. The Home Office described the estimate as a “dark figure” that may not have come to the NCA’s attention.

The modern slavery bill going through parliament will provide courts in England and Wales with powers to protect victims of human trafficking. Scotland and Northern Ireland are planning similar measures.

May said: “Working with a wide range of partners, we must step up the fight against modern slavery in this country, and internationally, to put an end to the misery suffered by innocent people around the world.”

The Home Office said the UK Border Force would introduce specialist trafficking teams at major ports and airports to identify potential victims, and the legal framework would be strengthened for confiscating the proceeds of crime.

But Aidan McQuade, the director of the Anti-Slavery International charity, questioned whether the government’s strategy went far enough.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you leave an employment relationship – even if you’re suffering from any sort of exploitation up to and including forced labour, even if you’re suffering from all sorts of physical and sexual violence – you’ll be deported.

“So that [puts] enormous power in the hands of unscrupulous employers. And frankly, the protections which the government has put in place are not worth the paper they’re written on in order to prevent this sort of exploitation once they’ve given employers that sort of power.”