Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrew Wallis OBE

@andrewwallis.bsky.social

180 followers 240 following 240 posts

CEO of Multi-Award Winning Charity Unseen. Support Liverpool Football Club & Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Varied & multiple views my own. World Citizen.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · Nov 15

A starter pack for anyone wanting to find organisations and individuals working to end modern slavery. Let me know if you want to be added or have escaped to here from the cesspit.

go.bsky.app/49DLNvD

4 3 12

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

6/
If we don’t dismantle the financial engine behind exploitation, we’ll keep fighting a war with one hand tied behind our backs.
The real question is:
👉 What bold step will shift power — from human traffickers to justice?

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

5/
We must treat modern slavery as a financial crime from day one.
💰 Seize all assets early
🔁 Reinvest in survivors & investigations
🧩 Coordinate across police, government & NGOs
⚖️ Focus on prevention, not just rescue

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

4/
In Kent alone, modern slavery consumes 5.7% of the police budget.
Yet nationally, anti-slavery funding remains fragmented, reactive, and underpowered.
This imbalance is unsustainable.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

3/
Policing costs have risen 141% since 2018, now £210 million a year.
The criminal profit recovered? £854,000.
Less than 0.4% recouped.
A moral and economic failure.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

2/
That’s £60 billion drained from public services — policing, healthcare, justice, housing.
Exploitation doesn’t just destroy lives.
It quietly bankrupts communities.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 13h

🧵1/
Modern slavery isn’t just a moral outrage — it’s an economic black hole.
Unseen’s @unseenuk.bsky.social new report finds it costs the UK £60 billion a year — around 2% of GDP.
➡️ unseenuk.org/the-high-price-of-exploitation-modern-slaverys-60bn-hit-to-the-uk

The high price of exploitation: modern slavery’s £60bn hit to the UK - Unseen

Modern slavery is estimated to be costing the UK £60bn. Read Unseen's new report on how modern slavery is costing you and your community.

unseenuk.org

1 1

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 4d

Great reporting by Marina Jenkins on ITV News about the nature and scale of the problem of #modernslavery in the UK. Happy to have supported and be interviewed by her. youtu.be/N8WkB6gBbvk?...

Britain's modern slavery crisis: Joining police on undercover operations | ITV News

YouTube video by ITV News

youtu.be

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 4d

Oh surprise surprise but here we go again @russellfindlay.bsky.social of the @scottories.bsky.social deliberately conflating immigration (smuggling) with #humantrafficking www.theyworkforyou.com/sp/?id=2025-...
I hope this explainer helps. Definitions matter & terms are not interchangeable. Thanks

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 12d

Good! www.bbc.com/news/live/cy...

Firm linked to Baroness Michelle Mone must pay £122m after breaching Covid PPE contract, judge rules

The government wins its case against PPE Medpro - part of a consortium led by Baroness Mone's husband - after it supplied non-compliant gowns in 2020.

www.bbc.com

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 18d

Surprise, surprise but here we go again @gbnewsonline.bsky.social deliberately conflating the issue of migration and #modernslavery. Just a wee reminder, modern slavery is a serious crime with victims and perpetrators and not an migration issue which is not a crime. www.gbnews.com/politics/mig...

SHOCK graph lays bare the staggering rise of the tactic lawyers used to block migrant deportations

An exclusive Stand for Our Sovereignty suggests claims have risen by 32 per cent in the last year alone

www.gbnews.com

1 1

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 19d

My response to the comments made by the UK Home Secretary on the alleged abuse of #modernslavery provisions. The short answer is that there is no evidence, and we need evidence-led politics, not sloganeering. @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
www.unseenuk.org/the-politics...

The Politics of Distrust: Why the UK Cannot Afford to Dismiss Modern Slavery Claims - Unseen

Examining the UK’s approach to modern slavery, this analysis highlights the risks of politicising victim protection, the realities of late disclosure, and why evidence-based policies are essential to ...

www.unseenuk.org

1 2

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 20d

Is this the end of Spotted Dick? @timdowling.bsky.social certainly hopes so! And Jam roly-poly isn’t safe either. www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...

Steam, stodge – and so much suet: I made 10 endangered British puddings. Are any actually worth saving?

With many classic puddings on the verge of dying out, I set out to discover which should be back on the menu. It was a journey through some of the heaviest desserts in history

www.theguardian.com

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 21d

It’s deeply alarming that only 6% of #humantrafficking & #modernslavery cases in #Scotland lead to convictions. It’s a systemic failure. Evidence gathering is hard, victims are retraumatised, laws are complex, and resources are under pressure. www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/concern...

Concern as 6% of human trafficking and modern slavery cases end in conviction

Research has found only a tiny proportion of criminal charges concerning trafficking and slavery lead to a guilty verdict in court.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

And so it begins uk.news.yahoo.com/modern-slave... #modernslavery

The Modern Slavery Act was a terrible mistake

Every now and then, a minister sounds like they might just get it. Earlier this year, Keir Starmer said he worried mass immigration would turn the country into an “island of strangers”. But his party ...

uk.news.yahoo.com

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

Borders and asylum may be political, but human suffering is not a last‐minute tactic.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

What’s needed instead is strengthened safeguards, more resources for legal advice, and robust identification systems — not political soundbites that erode trust.

And critically: modern slavery policy must protect, not be weaponised for deterrence.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

To penalise “late” revelation is to punish the most vulnerable.
Let’s remember: many victims only disclose exploitation late — trauma, coercion, and mistrust make early disclosure difficult. To penalise “late” revelation is to punish the most vulnerable.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

Let’s remember: many victims only disclose exploitation late — trauma, coercion, and mistrust make early disclosure difficult.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

It risks silencing people already traumatised, fearful, or simply unaware of their rights.

As Eleanor Lyons, the UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner, points out: there is no substantive evidence that the system is being widely misused.

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 25d

The Home Secretary’s framing of “vexatious, last‐minute” #modernslavery claims is deeply troubling. Suggesting victims “suddenly deciding” they are modern slaves on the eve of deportation isn’t just inaccurate. 🧵
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

UK anti-slavery commissioner condemns Shabana Mahmood’s asylum comments

Home secretary’s remarks about ‘vexatious’ claims will have real-life impact on trafficking victims, says Eleanor Lyons

www.theguardian.com

1 1

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 26d

They issue visas, it must also guarantee they don’t become a license for slavery
#modernslavery #hospitality #skilledvisas

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 26d

New Hospitality report from @unseenuk.bsky.social: 485 potential slavery victims in hospitality. £20k debts, threats, substandard housing. This isn’t an opportunity, it’s exploitation. Bars & hotels must act — and so must the government. www.lbc.co.uk/article/hund...

Hundreds of modern slavery victims work in UK’s bars and hotels | LBC

Hundreds of people working in the UK’s bars, restaurants, hotels and campsites are suspected to be victims of modern slavery, some with debts as high as £30,000 after being

www.lbc.co.uk

1 1

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · 27d

Trump’s plan to slash US$726m from global labour rights funding risks rolling back progress against child labour, forced labour & unsafe work worldwide. Cuts don’t just remove money—they weaken accountability and embolden abuse. www.equaltimes.org/trump-s-cuts...

Trump's cuts to global labour rights funding hits US$726m, new analysis reveals

More than US$726 million of funding to prevent child labour, modern slavery and workplace repression is set to be axed in a bonfire of worker protections being stoked by the Trump administration, Equa...

www.equaltimes.org

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · Sep 7

Government text warning test 1 minute 20 seconds late ⏰

Andrew Wallis OBE @andrewwallis.bsky.social · Sep 2

But to truly safeguard children, this progress must be backed by robust long-term investment, independent guardianship, meaningful oversight, and pathways to scale nationwide. Faster is better—but sustainable and accountable is best. #ModernSlavery #ChildProtection #SystemsChange”

1 1