The Independent By Emiliano Mellino,Matthew Chapman
Foreign workers on British farms were allegedly starved, abused, denied medical care and financially exploited — so why did the Home Office try to cover up damning evidence from its own inspections?
British farmers have been accused of modern slavery following allegations of the widespread exploitation of seasonal workers – which the Home Office tried to prevent from being made public.
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and The Independent has uncovered evidence suggesting that workers who had travelled thousands of miles to fill gaps in the UK’s agriculture workforce were publicly humiliated, not paid for all the hours they worked, and forced to live in substandard conditions.
The Home Office gathered the evidence in secret reports in 2021 and 2022, which it tried to prevent from being made public and were only released after a five-month battle…
