UK PM vows to defeat 'barbaric evil'

Britain will lead the fight against modern slavery, Theresa May has said, vowing to make it her mission to help rid the world of the "barbaric evil".

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, the prime minister called it "the great human rights issue of our time".

She said a new UK cabinet taskforce would tackle the "sickening and inhuman crimes" while £33m from the aid budget would fund initiatives overseas.

The most recent Home Office estimates suggest there are between 10,000 and 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK, with 45 million estimated victims across the world.

Victims are said to include women forced into prostitution, "imprisoned" domestic staff and workers in fields, factories and fishing boats.

May said: "From nail bars and car washes to sheds and rundown caravans, people are enduring experiences that are simply horrifying in their inhumanity.

"Innocent individuals are being tricked into prostitution, often by people they thought they could trust. Children are being made to pick-pocket on the streets and steal from cash machines."

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 states an offence is committed if someone holds another in slavery or servitude or requires them to perform forced or compulsory labour.

The legislation increased the maximum jail term for people traffickers from 14 years to life, and gave courts in England and Wales powers to impose orders to restrict the activities of suspected traffickers.

It was aimed at consolidating offences used to prosecute those who enslave others into a single act.