UK ‘dragging its heels’ over trade links to forced labour in China – as one survivor prepares to sue trade secretary
The British government has been accused of “dragging its heels” over trade linked to forced labour.
A Chinese labour camp survivor is preparing to sue the UK’s trade secretary for allowing cotton imports from the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, where it has been alleged local minority groups such as the Uyghurs have been subjected to human rights violations.
Erbakit Otarbay has spoken out despite warnings it could put his family in danger.
His lawyer, Paul Conrathe, says it is “outrageous” that the UK government is “hiding behind manifestly inadequate legislation”. The former leader of the Conservatives, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, says the UK is “lagging behind other countries”.
Mr Otarbay, who is Chinese but ethnically Kazakh, was forced to work in a clothing factory after being arrested in Xinjiang in 2017. He has written a pre-action letter to Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, demanding she address the “ongoing failure” of the UK to impose any restrictions on cotton imports from the region.
He says: “I’m lucky I’m in a free country now. But I can’t not think about people who I left behind. I don’t know what happened to them, what kind of horrors they have been subjected to.”
Mr Otarbay was sent to a detention centre in Xinjiang after being accused of watching illegal videos on Islam and installing WhatsApp on his phone. He says he “wished he died quickly”, and was “chained and shackled” and tortured, on a number of occasions, until he passed out.
Over 280 organisations, including the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), are also calling for all products from Xinjiang to be removed from supply chains.
They said “virtually the entire UK apparel industry” is at risk of being linked to forced labour.
Mr Otarbay says he was “chained and shackled” and tortured on a number of occasions
Ban on all cotton products from Xinjiang
Last year the US announced an import ban on all cotton products from Xinjiang; firms also have to prove any imports from the region are not produced using forced labour.
UK companies above a certain size must show they are avoiding using slavery in their supply chains. But there is currently no penalty if they fail to do so. A coordinated campaign is being launched in Ireland, where EU rules have also been criticised for not being strong enough.
Sir Iain said the UK is “very closely linked” to slave labour, and the government needs to make clear companies face “serious penalties” for not declaring where they are getting their goods from.
He said the UK “led the world” with the Modern Day Slavery Act, but “the key Achilles heel to our bill is that we need to have companies taking full responsibility for their supply chains”.
Earlier this year the United Nation’s human rights office said China’s treatment of its Uyghur population “may constitute crimes against humanity” and last December a tribunal in the UK found China guilty of genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.
China has always denied human rights violations. The government insists that the camps – which for a long time it denied even existed – are vocational training centres and part of a programme to fight extremism.
Read more:
Who are the Uyghur people and why do they face oppression by China?
Nike and H&M pay the price as China says Xinjiang forced labour is ‘nonsense’
‘I thought I had died’: Kazakhs say they were dragged in shackles and mistreated in Chinese detention centres
‘We approve of forced labour products’
Twenty percent of the world’s cotton is grown in Xinjiang, according to Laura Murphy, a human rights professor at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. She says not strengthening the UK import rules is “tantamount to saying we approve of forced labour products entering into our borders”.
In a statement, a government spokesperson said: “The evidence of the scale and severity of human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang against Uyghur Muslims paints a truly harrowing picture which we absolutely condemn.
“The UK is absolutely committed to tackling the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains and we have taken decisive action.
“Over the last year, we have introduced new guidance on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang as well as enhanced export controls, and have committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations that do not comply with modern slavery reporting requirements.”
The ceasefire deal is “the last chance for Gaza”, Qatar’s prime minister has said, adding: “Failure is not an option.”
In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani warned that “peace won’t happen” if there is not a Palestinian state.
He also criticised parties for the time it took to reach a deal.
Qatar has been one of the key mediators between Israel and Hamas in the more than 15 months since the renewed conflict erupted.
Mr al Thani told Sky News: “What we have reached with this deal is the last chance for Gaza. To save Gaza from this war this is our last chance.
“When we talk about peace in general, peace won’t happen without a Palestinian state at the end of the day. To address the root cause of the issue and not to just address the symptoms of the issue.”
Gaza ceasefire agreement latest: Israel’s security cabinet recommends approving deal
Qatar’s prime minister spoke to Yalda Hakim
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Asked what the consequences of the ceasefire deal collapsing would be, he said: “Failure is not an option. That’s what all of us should aspire to.
“If it fails we will not give up we will make sure it is rehashed again and the parties are adhering to that.”
Mr al Thani said Qatar’s role was as “guarantor and mediators” and that they would make sure the deal is delivered.
He talked about creating a “safety net” for any issues to be resolved before the deal “explodes”.
Qatar’s prime minister also criticised the negotiating parties for the time it took to agree a deal, saying that it was the same framework agreed upon in December 2023.
“Which is basically 13-months of a waste of negotiating the details that has no meaning and is not worth a single life that we lost in Gaza or a single life of the hostages lost because of the bombing.”
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Iraqi PM frustrated with West’s ‘failures’ over Gaza
The British families of hostages waiting for news
He also touched on US president-elect Donald Trump, who he said could “create a greater impact for the region”.
Commenting on how the incoming administration has operated during negotiations, he said: “I believe if this continues to be the attitude and approach for the next four years, we can create a lot of good things for the region.”
Elaborating on the need for a Palestinian state next to an Israeli state, he said: “That’s what we are aiming for.
“And I believe this moment we count on the wisdom of the leadership of the world. To really push for a solution at the end to the day.”
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners.
It will now go to the full cabinet for final sign-off, with a meeting said to be scheduled for this afternoon.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said approval came “after examining all political, security and humanitarian aspects” and with the understanding it “supports the achievement of the war’s goals”.
Live – Gaza ceasefire agreement latest
If passed, the truce could begin on Sunday.
In its first stage, the deal would see 33 of the 98 hostages freed over the course of six weeks. About half of the 98 are believed to be alive.
The remainder are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.
Hamas has said it won’t release everyone without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
Between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released in exchange, depending on the number of hostages freed.
Hostages’ families in Tel Aviv on 17 January. Pic: Reuters
Hardliners in Israel’s coalition government have criticised the deal as giving in to Hamas and security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved.
However, he said he wouldn’t bring down the government and ministers are expected to approve it.
The ceasefire has been long in the works and there have been false dawns, but on Wednesday a deal was done after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US.
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Large blasts continue over Gaza
Read more:
What does Gaza ceasefire say?
What do Israelis think of the deal?
Israel has continued strikes on Gaza in the meantime, and Palestinian officials said 86 people were killed the day after the agreement was unveiled.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza – mostly women and children – according to officials there.
Around 1,200 were murdered in Israel – alongside more than 250 who were kidnapped – in the October 2023 Hamas terror attack that started the war.
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How the war has destroyed Gaza
Israel has said it wants to wipe out the group and that it’s killed some 17,000 of its fighters.
However, it’s been accused of not doing enough to protect civilians – claims it denies – in a war that’s devastated Gaza, displaced hundreds of thousands and left many starving.
The World Health Organisation has said it should be possible to dramatically increase Gaza aid to about 600 trucks a day under the deal.
An average of 51 entered in early January, according to UN data.
Dozens of planes have been forced to divert or fly holding patterns to avoid potential debris from the SpaceX rocket that blew up.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it briefly slowed and re-routed planes in the area where the pieces were falling back to earth.
Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights last night after the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” – as Space X called it – were those holding or diverting over the Caribbean.
It appeared to show several planes flying circular holding patterns, including a Spirit jet heading to Puerto Rico and an Air Transat flight bound for the Dominican Republic.
A Boeing 767 transporting Amazon cargo diverted to Nassau in the Bahamas, while a JetBlue flight turned back to where it began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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SpaceX launches world’s largest rocket
The FAA often closes airspace for space missions and can create a “debris response area” to protect aircraft if a rocket has a problem outside the original closed zone.
Spectacular video on social media showed the debris from the 400ft Starship rocket streaking across the sky, with another clip showing it from the cockpit of a small plane.
Despite the rocket blowing up, SpaceX owner Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting on X: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
SpaceX launched the rocket from Boca Chica, south Texas, on Thursday around 4.40pm local time (10.40pm in the UK).
The flight was the seventh test for the newly-upgraded Starship, which was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.
But the company said it lost contact about eight and half minutes into the flight, with the last data indicating an altitude of 90 miles and a velocity of 13,245 mph.
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There was some success though – the booster section returned to a launchpad and was caught between two giant mechanical arms.
It’s the second time SpaceX has managed this particular feat and it’s part of its effort to reuse hardware and make space travel cheaper – with getting to Mars the big aim.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully launched two moon landers earlier this week, while Jeff Bezos also had a big win early Thursday morning.
The Amazon boss’s company, Blue Origin, put its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.
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