Complaints of modern slavery being rejected by Home Office due to lack of documentation proofs

LONDON Aug 21: Thousands of suspected modern slavery victims have had their cases rejected in a Home Office crackdown on “bogus claims” – a move experts warn puts the most vulnerable at risk, The Independent reported.

The Home Office has dramatically increased the number of rejections since January after toughening its criteria for approval by demanding those referred for help prove they are victims by submitting police or medical reports.

This prompted a surge in refusals, with more than 3,000 people denied help in the first half of the year, despite the UN warning that claims of fraud were being “exaggerated” by the government. The tough criteria have since been softened after a legal challenge forced the government to admit it was unlawful.

Charities have warned that it is not possible for victims to provide extensive documentation of how they had been trafficked and say the new rules are excluding people who deserved support. Figures for April to June this year show that 48 per cent of people received an initial positive decision on their case – a dramatic fall from the 90 per cent of cases approved in previous years.

Some 3,318 people have received a negative finding this year so far. Following a legal challenge, the Home Office has had to retract its harsh guidance but charities are concerned that many thousands of people have already been unfairly refused support.