AI and cost of living crisis fuelling record levels of modern slavery in UK

A new report has issued a stark warning that exploitation of UK citizens is on the rise due to rising costs of living, rising debts and insecure employment.

Criminals are also taking advantage of technological advances to more easily recruit and control victims.

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) Eleanor Lyons said the problem of modern slavery was now “bigger than ever”.

This includes various forms such as human trafficking, forced labor, criminal exploitation and sexual exploitation. Victims seeking support in the UK and seeking official recognition of their plight should be assessed through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Latest data published earlier this year showed the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the Home Office rose by more than a fifth in a year to reach a new record by 2025.

There were 23,411 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the Home Office in 2025; this was the highest number of referrals made in any year since the NRM began in 2009.

The nationalities most frequently referred to the system in 2025 were the United Kingdom; accounted for more than a fifth (22% or 5,110) of all referrals; followed by Eritreans (13%; 3,083) and Vietnamese (9%; 1,998).

A new report commissioned by the IASC and published on Tuesday states that unless a change is made in the approach to tackling the problem, “there is a real risk that exploitation will not disappear but will instead become harder to detect, become more digital and become more deeply embedded in daily economic and social activities.”

He warns that AI (artificial intelligence) and other technologies are helping traffickers “identify, recruit and control victims at scale”; It cites AI-powered scams, deepfakes, synthetic identities, and new forms of digital labor exploitation, which the report says expands the victim pool and makes exploitation harder to detect.

Examples given with children include “debt bonding,” in which the victim is given virtual gifts such as phone credit and video game currencies to instill a sense of obligation, and practices called “remote mothering,” in which the perpetrator establishes himself as a protective parental figure and manipulates the victim into activating monitoring applications to monitor and control their movements or behavior.

Ms Lyons said criminals were “operating with greater anonymity, scale and reach” when using the online world to recruit, groom and control victims.

Looking ahead, the report notes that “technological change is expected to significantly reshape the landscape of exploitation” through AI-enabled fraud, online sexual exploitation and blackmail, and the ability to launder criminal proceeds through cryptocurrency that can facilitate cross-border transactions.

Ms Lyons said tough economic pressures in the UK were “reshaping risk”.

He said: “Rising costs of living, debt and insecure work are creating conditions under which exploitation can become endemic in daily life, in sectors that millions of people rely on every day.”

The report notes that people facing economic insecurity may be more vulnerable to coercion, particularly where survival depends on accepting unsafe, informal or exploitative work.

Global conflicts are also said to be one of the key drivers of modern slavery; People have been displaced from their homes and are potentially vulnerable to exploitation as they travel elsewhere and once they reach their destination countries.

Immigration and visa-based abuse is said to be an emerging risk, but the report also lists reproductive abuse and organ harvesting.

“Collectively, these trends suggest that exploitation is becoming more diverse, less visible and increasingly integrated across labor markets, migration systems, digital ecosystems and transnational criminal networks,” the report states.

In a climate of declining birth rates and some unregulated fertility markets, reproductive exploitation such as forced surrogacy is likely to become a “more significant form” of modern slavery in the future, the research predicts.

Meanwhile, a “global organ trafficking market system” has been described, and in an environment where global demand for organ transplants is increasing, shortages are occurring, and cross-border medical markets are expanding, organ harvesting is likely to become a more prominent form of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Ms Lyons called on the Government to make tackling slavery a “clear priority” by setting up a committee with a current Cabinet minister responsible for action on the issue; increasing funding for specialist police units; and a national awareness campaign so people can recognize and report signs of exploitation.

He also said businesses should face fines and prosecution for exploitation if abuses are detected, and called for a long-term national plan to tackle modern slavery and track progress.

He said: “The most heartbreaking forms of slavery and exploitation are becoming more prevalent in this country and evolving faster than we can react.

“Behind these figures are real people being exploited in ways most of us cannot even imagine, whether it be women forced into the sex trade, children forced into drug gangs, or workers trapped in brutal conditions with no way out, often living in absolute fear.

“This is clearly happening in homes, workplaces and online as criminals use increasingly sophisticated methods to target and control victims without being detected.

“As exploitation becomes more complex and more covert due to technology and global instability, it will spread further and become harder to stop unless we act now.”

Latest data showed that the backlog of cases in the system, which the Government has pledged to clear by the end of this year, has fallen by two-thirds.

In October 2024, the Government announced the recruitment of an extra 200 staff to speed up proceedings, pledging to “clear” the backlog of decisions on modern slavery cases by the end of 2026.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Modern slavery is a global scourge that exploits and exploits people for profit.

“We are committed to reviewing the modern slavery system to reduce opportunities for abuse of the system, while ensuring we have the right protections in place for people who need it.

“We work with courageous survivors to inform policy development and improve victim identification.

“We also took immediate action to reduce the backlog of cases, ensuring victims receive quick decisions and the support they need to rebuild their lives.”