Nine 'slaves' return to Leighton Buzzard travellers site

[Tony Gosling]

Interesting timing re Dale Farm eh?
Were any of the remaining 15 police informers?

Rescued 'slave' criticises police raid at Bedfordshire caravan site
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/12/rescued-man-criticises-slavery-raid
Man helped from Travellers' site brands Leighton 
Buzzard arrests 'rubbish' as nine men refuse to help investigation
Alexandra Topping - guardian.co.uk - Monday 12 September 2011

The police investigation into a suspected slave 
camp at a Travellers' site in Bedfordshire has 
been challenged after nine of the 24 alleged 
slaves refused to help police with their inquiries.

One of the nine accused the police of 
heavy-handed tactics and described the five arrests as "complete rubbish".

Police insist that the four-month undercover 
operation has broken up an "organised crime 
group", and were questioning 15 alleged victims, 
who were being treated for malnutrition and other medical problems.

Police continue to question four men and are 
looking for two further suspects. One heavily 
pregnant woman, who is expected to give birth 
imminently, has been released on bail. No charges have yet been brought.

DCI Sean O'Neil, from the Bedfordshire and 
Hertfordshire major crimes unit, said: "Those 
people who we continue to help are appreciative 
of the support that is on offer, but it will take 
some time to work through with them what has happened."

He said he was confident the operation, called 
Operation Netwing, had broken up a criminal network.

Police have arrested suspects on slavery and 
servitude offences under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act.

"The new legislation has allowed the 
investigation more scope and takes into account 
emotional rather than physical harm," O'Neil 
said. "I am confident that while the 
investigation is in its early stages this is a 
family-run 'business' and is an organised crime 
group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation."

At the well-established Greenacre caravan park in 
Leighton Buzzard, which has 16 mobile homes, one 
of the men taken by police, who did not want to 
be named, said he had been living in a caravan on 
a Traveller plot for several years, working as a 
paver and was being paid £50 a day.

"I think it's all a load of rubbish and they just 
hate Travellers," said the man, who is in his 
50s. "Plenty of men who were here wanted to be 
here and they were getting paid. The police 
coming in heavy-handed like this is just wrong."

More than 200 police officers raided the site in 
the early hours of Sunday, aided by a helicopter 
and dog patrols. Armed officers were also present.

Four men and a woman were arrested on suspicion 
of slavery offences, while 24 men were taken to a medical centre.

Police said the men had been kept as virtual 
slaves in appalling conditions, forced to work 
long hours doing physically demanding jobs without pay.

However, the man told the Guardian he had worked 
for 15 years with one Traveller family who had 
provided him with work and accommodation when he 
had nowhere else to go. After refusing to answer 
police questions he made his way back to the site.

He said: "The police told me I couldn't come back 
but I told them it was my home and if I wanted to go back I would go back."

Speaking at the door of her mobile home, one 
woman – who said she was the wife of one of the 
arrested men but did not want to be named – said 
the police claims were "ridiculous".

She added: "The men who were taken were getting 
paid £30 a day, they had somewhere to live, this is all a load of nonsense."

Police claimed the suspects lured vulnerable men 
from dole queues and homeless shelters to work at 
the site. But the woman said they came 
voluntarily because they knew Travellers would 
give work to men down on their luck.

"Isn't it better that they have a roof over their 
head?" she said. "What are they going to do now – 
when the police have finished with them they will 
be homeless. It's up to them how they kept their 
homes, but they could come and go whenever they pleased."

She accused the police of harbouring prejudices 
against Travellers. "It's complete lies and they 
are trying to make Travellers look bad. There are 
two sides to this story," she said.

A police spokeswoman said the 24 men taken from 
the site were being offered help: "We are giving 
help to all of the men, but if they do not want 
it then obviously we are not forcing them to take it."

Paul Donohoe, spokesman for Anti-Slavery 
International said that, although he could not 
comment on the details of this particular case, 
it was not unusual for victims of slavery to resist help from the authorities.

"We do often see the Stockholm syndrome coming 
into effect – it is not unusual for people who 
have been 'rescued' to psychologically identify with their enslavers."

Police said on Monday that of the 24 men taken 
from the site, nine had left the medical 
reception centre and had chosen not to support the police investigation.

The remaining 15 continue to be assessed for 
welfare and health needs, and would be 
interviewed by detectives. Police said it would 
take a number of days to establish exactly what 
had happened to them on the site.

Of the men helping police, eight are British, 
three Polish, one Latvian and one Lithuanian, 
with two men of unconfirmed nationality.

The youngest person to be found on site was 17. 
Police said he has rejoined his family.
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