In the Dock: Connors case shows forced labour not a thing of the past

27/12/2012

Earlier this month, following a three-month trial at Bristol Crown Court, five members of the Connors family, William, his wife Mary, their two sons John and James and their son-in-law Miles Connors were convicted of conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour. All received jail sentences and the CPS will now seek a confiscation of the benefits their criminal activities under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

If the death of 21 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004 increased public awareness of the problems faced by migrant workers, the Connors case shows that even those born in the UK can fall victim to forced labour.

In prosecuting the Connors, Prosecutors at CPS Southwest were the first to ever institute proceedings under the 2010 Coroners and Justice Act, which created offences of conspiracy to hold another person in servitude and conspiracy to require a person to carry out forced or compulsory labour.

The Connors were placed under covert surveillance in August 2010 following reports of physical assaults on workers. On 22 March 2011 the police raided sites in Nottinghamshire and Staverton in Gloucestershire and rescued 20 men from their clutches.

During the trial, the court heard how the Connors would pick up homeless men to work for them as labourers. They kept their victims as virtual prisoners in squalid caravans on traveller sites, used violence to prevent them leaving or alerting the authorities and paid them as little as £5 for a day's hard labour.

The case highlights the significant obstacles the Criminal Justice system faces in identifying the victims of forced labour and enforcing the comparatively new laws designed to protect them. However, it also illustrates how the CPS and police are determined to work together to secure justice in even the most difficult circumstances.

The victims were all in extremely vulnerable situations because of their fear of the Connors, their homelessness and their issues with alcohol, making it very difficult indeed for them to give evidence. The five separate legal teams employed by the Connors left no stone unturned in trying to overturn the prosecution case through every possible legal argument, including making submissions that evidence should be deemed inadmissible and contending there had been an abuse of process in how evidence had been obtained from the witnesses.

We must all be vigilant to ensure people in vulnerable situations do not fall victim to criminals like the Connors.