The Connors family from Leighton Buzzard, convicted a while ago of keeping vulnerable men in servitude as slaves, have been the subject of a court hearing under the Proceeds Of Crime Act. They must pay a total of £360,000 to the authorities or serve extra prison terms. It isn't clear if this sum fully reflects the gains which the Connors family made from keeping several slaves for many years, or not. But it is money the court thinks that they still have access to and can pay.
There are a couple more similar cases going through the courts at the moment, one of which involves someone from Luton (only about twenty minutes drive from Leighton Buzzard) allegedly being responsible for a number of slaves discovered in Southampton. The Home Office now estimates that there are about 6,000 persons being kept as slaves in the UK, which shows that much more effort is needed as well as new, tougher legislation which is in the works. This will bring in possible life sentences to avoid the absurdity of slave keepers getting a shorter sentence than their victims have been held in servitude for.
There will doubtless be more posts on this subject here.
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