The BBC has uncovered a disturbing case of modern slavery involving 16 victims who were forced to work at a McDonald’s branch and a bakery supplying major supermarkets, including Asda, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The victims, primarily from the Czech Republic, were exploited for over four years. Their wages were paid into a single account controlled by the gang. Dame Sara Thornton, former independent anti-slavery commissioner, expressed concern over the missed warning signs, saying: “It really concerns me that so many red flags were missed.” The exploitation ended in October 2019 after victims alerted police in the Czech Republic. McDonald’s UK has since stated it is improving its systems to detect potential risks, while the British Retail Consortium acknowledged the need for the retail industry to learn from such cases. Former prime minister Theresa May – who now leads the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking – said the case was “frankly shocking,” and shows “large companies not properly looking into their supply chains.”
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