Sadiq Khan addressing a crowd in Trafalgar Square. Pic: Ying Kuen Tonmy Lam

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, is to appoint a new modern slavery ambassador in the borough of Hackney.

Khan made the announcement during Mayor’s question time last week when he was asked how the Met was tackling modern slavery by assembly member Jeannette Arnold.

The announcement of the new position comes after the head of the Metropolitan police said in May this year that they expected the number of cases of modern slavery being reported to them to rise by 60 per cent this year. Campaigners on the issue have claimed that many councils fail to identify victims despite having a statutory duty to report suspected slaves to the national referral operation introduced by the modern slavery act of 2015.

When responding to questions from Andrew Boff, Mr Khan pointed out that the new ambassador will be taken from the police force. He said this would be key in ͞passing the training down to other officers at a borough level.

The focus on the problem of modern slavery across the country has led to six cases of conviction of the charge which include a Hackney man, Jonatan Majewski. Majewski trafficked four people from Poland, forcing them to work six days a week while surviving on rations of food was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The announcement was welcomed by Arnold who said: ͞”This bold move marks a turning point in our approach that will help to stamp out this cruel practice in Hackney.”

As part of the announcement Khan also revealed that this year has already seen 59 arrests on modern slavery charges as opposed to the 88 seen in 2016.

To see the mayor’s announcement follow the link to the 1:15 mark: