More British people than ever before are being trapped in modern slavery, according to the latest available Home Office figures.  

A quarter of all referrals to the UK’s national modern slavery safeguarding scheme were related to British nationals.

Albanian and Vietnamese nationals were the second and third most referred, respectively.

But despite some police forces seeing a rise in charges for human trafficking, conviction rates remain proportionately low.

Sky News joined Greater Manchester Police on a raid at an abattoir, following intelligence claims that its owners were suspected of exploiting labour.

One alleged victim of modern slavery in the abattoir was living in conditions deemed “unsuitable for human habitation”, police said, just metres from where live animals were being slaughtered.

The man, who was brought to the UK on a legitimate skilled worker visa, told police he was then forced to work long hours for little or no pay.

“The area where our survivor was required to sleep was essentially a converted office space… next to the main slaughter hall,” DS Lee Attenborough, of Greater Manchester Police, says.

“It’s a noisy mechanised site, with a pungent smell from the activity that goes on here and is really not suitable for human habitation as far as we’re concerned.”

On this raid, police did not identify any additional suspected victims of modern slavery.

But authorities warn that these types of environments are typically where they find the most people who need their help.

Following the abattoir raid, a man and a woman, both in their 30s, were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and an offence of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour on Friday evening.

An Albanian national, also in his thirties, was arrested at the same abattoir after he tried to evade police, fleeing from the site and hiding on a nearby roof, DS Attenborough said.

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Darren Wright from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority said: “Abattoirs, farms, takeaways – anywhere there’s money to be made you usually find exploitation.

“It’s all about telling these potential victims what support we can offer and what support we can offer to gain their trust.

“But by the very nature of the job, they are very distrustful.”

The mother of a baby girl who was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder has urged people to sign the stem cell register in a bid to save her daughter’s life.

Doctors initially suspected a viral infection when three-month-old Dolcie-Mae Edwards-Raymond, from Newport in South Wales, fell ill and failed to gain weight shortly after she was born.

However, when she was just a month old, her parents Courtney-Jade Edwards, 22, and Ashley David Raymond, 28, were told she has hemophagocytic lymphohistiocystosis (HLH).

The immune deficiency disorder occurs when certain types of white blood cells, known as histiocytes and lymphocytes, become overactive and attack the body.

It can be life-threatening if left untreated or not diagnosed promptly.

Following her diagnosis, Dolcie-Mae was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle from her home where she is receiving specialist treatment.

She will remain in hospital until a matching stem cell donor can be found.

Ms Edwards said: “No family should have to go through such an awful journey, watching their child fight a battle bigger than themselves.

“You could help give families like ours a chance to make memories by signing up to the register today.

“When Dolcie-Mae’s dad, Ashley, and I found out our daughter had HLH we were devastated. We had no idea about this rare blood disorder until she was diagnosed.

“To hear that our daughter’s body was attacking itself was just so heartbreaking. Knowing there was absolutely nothing we could do but sit beside her and pray for better days was awful, leaving us feeling so helpless.”

The family are now appealing for people between the ages of 16 and 30 to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register to find a donor for Dolcie-Mae.

“Help give patients like my baby girl a second chance at life,” Ms Edwards said.

“A stem cell transplant from a stranger, someone like you, can be their only hope. Please join the stem cell register.”

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Charlotte Cunliffe, director of register development at Anthony Nolan, said: “It’s heartbreaking to think about what little Dolcie-Mae and her family are going through and we are supporting them through this uncertain time.

“At Anthony Nolan we give hope to families affected by blood cancers and disorders, but we can’t do it without the lifesavers that sign up to our register.

“If you are aged 16-30, please sign up to the Anthony Nolan register online and send back your swabs. You could be the match that someone like baby Dolcie-Mae needs to survive.”

According to a study published in 2022, there were 1,674 people with HLH diagnosed in England between 2003 and 2018

There are two types of HLH.

One is inherited and usually affects babies under the age of one, while secondary HLH is caused by infections and usually happens after age six.

Energy giant Shell is due to install a multi-billion pound gas platform in the North Sea this spring despite being blocked from drilling, Sky News understands.

The Jackdaw field, which it is claimed could eventually power more than a million UK homes, has to get fresh approval from Downing Street to extract gas after a ruling this week by a Scottish court.

A judge in Edinburgh decided the previous Conservative government acted “unlawfully” when it gave consent to Shell’s Jackdaw and Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oilfield containing around 350 million barrels of oil.

The pair could eventually still proceed. But the court said the original assessments failed to acknowledge the impact of burning the oil and gas, rather than just from getting them out of the ground.

A ban on drilling is in place until new permissions are given.

Shell, which says it welcomes the decision, is continuing to prepare its platform which is currently in the final stages of construction in Norway.

The company has not confirmed its next steps, but it is understood the structure is due to be towed into British waters in the coming months by barge.

A Shell spokesman said: “The ruling rightly allows work to progress on this nationally important energy project while new consents are sought.

“We have spent more than £800m since the regulator approved Jackdaw in 2022.

“Swift action is needed from the government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure.”

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Rosebank is operated by Equinor and Ithaca Energy.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government says it will work “at speed” to reassess permissions.

The case creates a possible political quandary for the prime minister who pledged during the general election campaign not to issue new oil and gas licences.

Downing Street is currently on a well-publicised mission to improve economic growth in the UK and the oil giants, who have already invested hundreds of millions of pounds in these projects, will be hoping the political fallout of rejecting these licences would be too excruciating for Labour to bear.

There is still a way Labour could sign them off while still sticking to its election promise, as these projects already have licences, but just need final government consent.

The court ruling is being seen as a victory among climate campaigners.

Commenting on the decisions the prime minister now faces, Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, said: “The government must reject it.

“To do otherwise would undermine its ambitious clean growth plans by sending a signal to investors that the UK isn’t serious about transitioning away from expensive oil and gas.”