Record number of slavery victims in the UK

More than 5,000 victims of slavery were referred to UK authorities last year, a record number.

What it means: Slavery What's this? was officially abolished in the 19th Century, but that didn't stop it. People have been forced into work or labour throughout history and in 2015 a law was brought in the UK, designed to stop it. It's called the Modern Slavery Act.

There's been a big rise in the number of victims who are UK nationals – until now the majority of recorded cases of modern slavery were people of other nationalities, who are often trafficked into the UK and forced to work to repay debts. The NCA says the rise in UK victims is largely because of an increased number of children and young people being used to smuggle drugs around the UK.

According to the National Crime Agency, the increase in referrals is mainly down to the fact that more people are aware of modern slavery and the different forms it can take. But the NCA's director says it's still almost certainly an "underestimation" of the scale of modern slavery.

Read the full story (BBC News)