Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, I start by thanking all those in the House who have supported these amendments. I also very much thank colleagues from Liberty and Anti-Slavery International who first drew this important gap in the law to my attention. They have been extremely helpful; they have given lots of expert guidance, shared their knowledge and given very generously of their time throughout this process. This gap prevents us dealing effectively with contemporary forms of forced labour and enslavement here in Britain. It happens in cities; it happens in rural areas; and it happens in coastal towns. Typically, it involves migrants, but not always; often women are the victims, although not exclusively. Victims may be subjected to unacceptable living conditions and forced to work for 12 or more hours a day. They are also frequently subjected to vicious psychological abuse and to threats which keep them effectively imprisoned. These offences sometimes include trafficked people or illegal immigrants, although not necessarily all the time. Yesterday, in the debate on vulnerable migrant workers, my noble friend Lord Sandwich referred to the case of Patience. I shall not repeat her story, but I want to pay tribute to her courage in detailing for a meeting of Peers and NGOs precisely the kind of abusive, coercive treatment that these amendments are designed to criminalise. Patience spoke powerfully and movingly of her years of maltreatment as a prisoner in the house of a lawyer who was supposed to be her employer. I do not believe that laws should be based purely on our emotional responses to particular predicaments, but I would defy anybody with even a vestige of humanity to listen to her testimony and not be moved to do something to address this gap in the law. Since Committee, with colleagues from Liberty and Anti-Slavery International, I have had useful and productive discussions with the noble Lords, Lord Bach and Lord Tunnicliffe, and the Bill team. I appreciate officials’ strenuous efforts to get to grips with this issue. They have now, we believe, found an effective, workable solution to this distinctive problem and, as a result, a new amendment will be inserted into the Bill using Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights as a vehicle. It will be tabled at Third Reading. I shall therefore not divide the House today. The list of those who support the principles behind these amendments and the need for them includes the DPP, the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, the CPS, the trade union Unite and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, among others. There is also widespread support for these amendments across all the Benches in this House. We all want to ensure that those who coerce vulnerable people in this way will face the prospect of lengthy prison sentences. I beg to move.