Bristol drug dealer jailed for modern slavery offence – BBC News
‘A drug dealer who was involved in trafficking children to sell crack cocaine and heroin has been jailed.’
BBC News, 25th April 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: trafficking in human beings
From low-level drug dealer to human trafficker: are modern slavery laws catching the wrong people? – The Guardian
‘When armed police burst through his front door in Tottenham, north London, at 5am in September 2014, Glodi Wabelua knew things looked bad. The house was full of drug paraphernalia, including a hydraulic press, scales and mixing bowls, as well as a mobile phone full of incriminating texts advertising deals for crack cocaine and heroin.’
The Guardian, 18th April 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Anti-trafficking Chains: Analyzing the Impact of Transparency Legislation in the UK Construction Sector – Law & Social Inquiry
‘A recurring conundrum lies at the heart of current anti-trafficking law and policy. Despite enormous efforts by civil society organizations, corporations, and governments to reduce human trafficking in supply chains, and the introduction of legislation in various countries that requires corporations to take active actions in this field, there is wide agreement that, so far, the desired change has not occurred. This article addresses this puzzle through studying the vibrant anti-trafficking activity in the UK construction sector that emerged following the enactment of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA). Applying socio-legal methods, the article unpacks the structural dynamics that shape the implementation of the MSA in the construction sector. We find that the Act exacerbates the imbalanced power relations between firms and anti-trafficking initiatives, positioning the latter as suppliers of modern slavery risk solutions that are dependent on corporate will and funding. The article demonstrates that anti-trafficking initiatives in the construction sector largely follow a “supply chain logic” that significantly limits their capacities to transform corporate behavior. We develop the notion of “anti-trafficking chains” to describe the dynamics of anti-trafficking activities in supply chains and to problematize the entanglement of anti-trafficking actors in supply chain power structure and logic.’
Law & Social Inquiry, 14th February 2024
Source: www.cambridge.org
Consultation on proposed sentencing guidelines for immigration offences – Sentencing Council
‘The Sentencing Council is consulting on the first ever sentencing guidelines for immigration offences. The guidelines reflect legislative changes to the Immigration Act 1971 brought in by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.’
Sentencing Council, 20th March 2024
Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk
Small boat pilot jailed after endangering more than 50 lives – Home Office
‘A small boat pilot has been jailed after crossing the Channel with more than 50 migrants in a perilously overcrowded dinghy.’
Home Office, 21st March 2024
Source: www.gov.uk
Two jailed for trying to smuggle migrants out of UK – BBC News
‘Two men have been jailed for a total of 12 years for trying to smuggle migrants out of the UK in a refrigerated lorry.’
BBC News, 15th March 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
When Victims of Modern Slavery Became Offenders: The Unravelling of the UK’s Modern Slavery Agenda – Journal of Human Trafficking
‘While victims of trafficking who commit crimes have a defense in law in England and Wales, this has not been without controversy in the courts and is increasingly threatened in practice as British government ministers heap suspicion on those formally seeking recognition as victims of modern slavery. In the first part of this article, we review recent criminal cases decided by the Court of Appeal in England and Wales to explore why it is that some victims of trafficking break the law. These cases reveal the impossible choices that constitute the nexus of circumstances that lead victims to offend. In the second part of this article, we examine the cases of three people convicted of modern slavery and allied immigration crimes that are excluded from the statutory defense in English and Welsh law to show how morally comprehensible the commission of serious crimes can be in the aftermath of exploitation, destitution and trauma. We conclude by urging academics and activists in the modern slavery field to be vocal about how few victims fit their stereotypes and to help articulate the irreconcilably difficult choices that explain why some break the law in immigration contexts that are overtly hostile toward them.’
Jounal of Human Trafficking, 27th February 2024
Source: www.tandfonline.com
Luton drug dealers jailed for modern slavery offence – BBC News
‘Two men who sent a vulnerable teenager more than 100 miles from his home to sell Class A drugs have been jailed.’
BBC News, 23rd February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Asylum seeker with home-made boat sentenced after four migrants die in Channel – The Independent
‘An asylum seeker has been detained for nine years and six months for the manslaughter of fellow migrants who drowned trying to cross the English Channel.’
The Independent, 23rd February 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
UK signs new deal with EU to tackle small boat crossings – BBC News
‘The UK has signed a new deal with the EU’s border agency to work more closely together to stop small boats crossing the English Channel.’
BBC News, 23rd February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of British citizenship – The Guardian
‘Shamima Begum, who left Britain as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State, has lost an appeal against the decision to remove her British citizenship.’
The Guardian, 23rd February 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Lewis Graham: Paused Policies, Secret Policies and the Rule of Law: XY v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘It is hard to think of a concept with a more contested definition in legal and political circles than “the rule of law”. The question of what content (if any) might be found within it (and indeed, what “it” even is – a political truth? A normative ideal? A mere slogan?) has been taken up, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, by first-year law students, wizened academics, campaigning groups and politicians. If it sometimes seems that a thicker, rights-laden understanding of the term has taken root, detractors are always quick to emerge, eager to remind us of what the rule of law is and what it is not. There is a real danger in piling too much upon the notion so as to distort the concept, which may cause us to lose sight of why the rule of law is uniquely important. At the very least, framing the rule of law narrowly helps ensure that an appropriate degree of opprobrium can be generated in those instances when it is, in fact, undermined.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd February 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Ibrahima Bah: Dinghy pilot guilty over Channel migrant deaths – BBC News
‘A man who piloted a boat in the English Channel has been found guilty of the manslaughter of four migrants who drowned when it ran into difficulty.’
BBC News, 19th February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
People smuggler jailed for cramming migrants in van compartment – Home Office
‘A people smuggler has been jailed for cramming 7 migrants into a one-person sleeping compartment and brazenly trying to enter the UK.’
Home Office, 16th February 2024
Source: www.gov.uk
Albanian man jailed for smuggling 12 migrants in North Sea crossing – Home Office
‘A people smuggler has been jailed after smuggling migrants, including a child, towards the UK.’
Home Office, 5th February 2024
Source: www.gov.uk
Channel migrants: Man who piloted boat carrying 70 jailed – BBC News
‘A man who piloted a boat carrying more than 70 migrants who were rescued off the Kent coast has been jailed.’
BBC News, 5th February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
High Court allows judicial review against council over failure to support child trafficking victim – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court has ruled that the London Borough of Barnet failed to meet its duties towards a victim of child trafficking after he received no specialist support from either the council or the Home Office for several years.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Haulage boss jailed seven years for his role in people-smuggling network linked to Essex lorry deaths – Crown Prosecution Service
‘A haulage boss has been jailed today for his involvement in a people-smuggling network linked to the tragic deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children in Essex.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 30th November 2023
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
No more new investigations in Rotherham child abuse inquiry – BBC News
‘An inquiry into child abuse in Rotherham will not start any new investigations from next year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.’
BBC News, 28th November 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
People smugglers ordered to pay over £280,000 from criminal profits in the Essex lorry deaths case – Crown Prosecution Service
‘A convicted people smuggler, responsible for the manslaughter of 39 people who died in the back of a lorry in Essex, has today (24 September 2023) been ordered to pay a total of £65,157.65 to victims’ families through a Confiscation Order made by the court today.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 24th November 2023
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
