Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Solicitor-General – in the House of Commons at 10:30 am on 15 October 2009.
Will the Solicitor-General put on the agenda of the meeting with the DPP the question of confiscation orders against human traffickers? The orders rob traffickers of money, but they do nothing to help victims. Compensation orders for victims are allowed under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, but the money that confiscation orders take from traffickers automatically goes to the Treasury unless the DPP asks for compensation orders at the same time. It is a cruel joke that victims should be deprived of money in that way, and it goes totally against the spirit of the European convention on action against human trafficking which was approved by the Government and the House and which is now being brought into operation.