UK Modern Slavery Referrals Reach Record 23,000 in 2025, Up 22% from Prior Year

An independent report published on Monday warned that cost of living pressures are driving up exploitation levels in Britain, with over 23,000 potential victims of modern slavery referred to a monitoring group in 2025. BBC News reported that this figure represents a 22% increase from the previous year and stands as the highest number ever recorded.

The report, issued by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC), cautions that people trafficking, forced labour, and sexual exploitation will become harder to detect in the coming years without urgent action against criminal networks.

More than a fifth of the potential victims identified in 2025 were from the UK, making it the largest single group. Eritrean nationals accounted for 13% of the referrals, while Vietnamese nationals made up 9%. These statistics underscore a shift where exploitation increasingly affects people within Britain, as highlighted in the analysis.

The report draws together evidence from more than 50 organisations to examine how exploitation may evolve. It identifies rising living costs, debt, and insecure work as three main factors contributing to the rise. Additionally, the document states that artificial intelligence (AI) and digital platforms are enabling traffickers to recruit, groom, and control victims at scale.

Eleanor Lyons, appointed as the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in October 2023, said the report underlined how exploitation is increasingly affecting people within the UK. She stated: 'The most harrowing forms of exploitation are becoming more widespread in this country and evolving faster than we can respond.

Lyons added that the UK's response is not keeping pace with the scale and complexity of the threat.

Lyons called on the government to introduce changes, including funding for specialist police units and fines for businesses found to have breached anti-exploitation rules. These statements emphasize the human toll behind the rising figures. The report was published more than 10 years after the Modern Slavery Act came into force in 2015.

That legislation brought together existing anti-exploitation offences into one law. It also created new duties and powers to protect victims and prosecute offenders, while introducing a new defence for victims of slavery and trafficking who have been forced to break the law.

Conflict and displacement around the world are making it easier for traffickers to exploit vulnerable people, according to the report's findings.

BBC News noted that the analysis comes amid broader concerns about poverty and technology fueling record levels of exploitation in the UK. The IASC's warnings point to a need for proactive measures to address these evolving challenges.