A new report warns that modern slavery in the UK has reached record levels, driven by the cost of living crisis and the use of artificial intelligence by criminals. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) said the scale of exploitation is now "greater than ever".
Home Office data shows referrals of potential victims to the National Referral Mechanism hit a record 23,411 in 2025, a rise of more than a fifth on the previous year. UK nationals made up 22% of referrals, the largest single nationality group, followed by Eritreans (13%) and Vietnamese (9%).
Commissioner Eleanor Lyons said offenders are using technology to "operate with greater anonymity, scale and reach", including AI-enabled scams, deepfakes, and digital labour exploitation. Examples include ‘debt bonding’ through virtual gifts and ‘remote mothering’ using tracking apps.
Economic pressures are also reshaping risk, with rising living costs, debt and insecure work making people vulnerable to coercion. The report warns that without a change in approach, exploitation will become harder to detect and more digitally embedded.
Looking ahead, the research predicts a rise in reproductive exploitation, such as forced surrogacy, and organ harvesting amid global shortages. It also highlights immigration and visa-based exploitation as emerging risks.
