The announcement that funding for the Metropolitan Police human trafficking unit has been restored has been welcomed by the London Assembly. The country’s only such unit had been threatened with closure as a result of cuts in Home Office funding which the London Assembly unanimously condemned earlier this week1.
Today Justice Secretary Jack Straw MP told the House of Commons that the Home Office and Metropolitan Police have now agreed to jointly fund the human trafficking unit for the next financial year while a review of long term funding arrangements is conducted.
Commenting on the news, Jenny Jones AM, who proposed the London Assembly motion condemning the unit’s closure, said:
"I am delighted that Ministers have seen sense and acted to ensure that this vital tool in the battle against human trafficking is able to continue its excellent work. I am sure that keeping the human trafficking unit open will mean the more effective pursuit of the modern day slave-traders who are responsible for the misery of thousands of women and girls trafficked into the UK."