A ‘no-deal’ Brexit could lead to rise in human trafficking: rights group

Name: UK government imposes new Covid-19 lockdown for England
Uploaded: 2020-12-04T14:35:15.000Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: UK government imposes new Covid-19 lockdown for England

As Britain is set to leave the European Union, it remains unclear how much access it will retain to the bloc’s security data

A ‘no-deal’ could mean the UK is cut off from EU security agencies like Europol, which could hinder efforts to stop modern slavery

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Britain’s transition period out of the European Union ends on December 31. Photo: Bloomberg

Thomson Reuters FoundationandBloomberg

Published: 10:35pm, 4 Dec 2020Updated: 1:59am, 5 Dec 2020

Brexit will be a boon for human traffickers unless Britain acts swiftly to improve its border controls and maintain cooperation with European law enforcement bodies, activists said on Friday.

Britain’s transition period out of the European Union (EU) ends on December 31, and it is unclear how much access it will retain to the bloc’s data from security tools used in everything from combating crime to business information.

A Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) report said Britain risked being excluded from intelligence-sharing operations such as Europol, which could hinder efforts to stop modern slavery as many victims arrive from nations including Albania and Bulgaria.

A “no-deal” could mean Britain is cut off from EU security data, from the Schengen Information System – the bloc’s border database – to the European police Europol. If there is a deal, Britain’s access would be reduced, but by how much is unclear.

Britain must also address issues with entry and exit checks after Brexit, the authors said, describing the proposed visa-free entry for EU nationals as an “open door for traffickers”.

“Ministers must wake up to this threat and find ways of maintaining links with EU law enforcement agencies and plugging gaps in our border controls, which are wide open to exploitation by trafficking gangs,” said HTF Chairman Anthony Steen.

02:13

UK government imposes new Covid-19 lockdown for England

A record 10,627 suspected slaves were identified in 2019 – up by 52 per cent in a year – while the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the crime further underground with victims less likely to be found and frontline services focused elsewhere, campaigners have said.

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