Human trafficking will escalate if anti-Europeans get their way
Originally published by UK Liberal Democrats
The warning comes as the Coalition Government released new figures showing that human trafficking to the UK is rising and as three of Britain's leading Anti-Human Trafficking charities, writing in The Times, called on the UK to remain part of all European measures to combat human trafficking.
Commenting, Julian Huppert said:
"Human trafficking is one of the worst crimes imaginable. Having been sold a dream of a better life, many victims end up as modern day slaves for Britain's criminal underworld.
"To combat this cross-border crime effectively, we need to work across national borders. But if Tory Eurosceptics deny our police and prosecutors the tools they say they need to fight this international crime, it will only make life easier for Britain's human traffickers.
"Theresa May must listen to the police, law societies and anti-human trafficking organisations, not the ideological anti-European dogma of some in her party that would damage the fight against organised criminal gangs.
"The UK has a proud record of leading Europe in fighting human trafficking, bringing the traffickers to justice and releasing those held as slaves. We must not put that in jeopardy."