McDonald’s and big supermarkets failed to spot slavery, BBC finds

Signs that modern slavery victims were being forced to enactment astatine a McDonald’s subdivision and a mill supplying breadstuff products to large supermarkets were missed for years, the BBC has found.

A pack forced 16 victims to enactment astatine either the fast-food edifice oregon the mill - which supplied Asda, Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Well-established signs of slavery, including paying the wages of 4 men into 1 slope account, were missed portion the victims from the Czech Republic were exploited implicit much than 4 years.

McDonald’s UK said it had improved systems for spotting “potential risks”, portion the British Retail Consortium said its members would larn from the case.

Six members of a family-run quality trafficking web from the Czech Republic person been convicted successful 2 transgression trials, which were delayed by the Covid pandemic.

Reporting restrictions person prevented sum of overmuch of the case, but BBC England tin present uncover the afloat standard of the gang’s crimes - and the missed opportunities to halt them.

Nine victims were forced to enactment astatine the McDonald’s subdivision successful Caxton, Cambridgeshire. Nine worked astatine the pitta breadstuff company, with factories successful Hoddesdon successful Hertfordshire and Tottenham successful northbound London, which made supermarket own-brand products. There were 16 victims successful full crossed some sites, arsenic 2 worked astatine some McDonald’s and the factory.

The victims - who were each vulnerable, astir having experienced homelessness oregon addiction - earned astatine slightest the ineligible minimum wage, but astir each of their wage was stolen by the gang.

While they lived connected a fewer pounds a time successful cramped accommodation - including a leaking shed and an unheated caravan - constabulary discovered their enactment was backing luxury cars, golden jewellery and a spot successful the Czech Republic for the gang.

On respective occasions, victims escaped and fled location lone to beryllium tracked down and trafficked backmost to the UK.

The exploitation ended successful October 2019 aft victims contacted constabulary successful the Czech Republic, who past tipped disconnected their British counterparts.

But informing signs had been missed for astatine slightest 4 years, the BBC has discovered by reviewing ineligible documents from the gang’s proceedings and interviewing 3 victims.

The undetected reddish flags include:

• Victims’ wages were paid into slope accounts successful different people’s names. At the McDonald’s, astatine slightest 4 victims’ wages - totalling £215,000 - were being paid into 1 account, controlled by the gang

• Victims were incapable to talk English, and occupation applications were completed by a pack member, who was adjacent capable to sit-in connected occupation interviews arsenic a translator

• Victims worked utmost hours astatine the McDonald’s - up to 70 to 100 a week. One unfortunate worked a 30-hour shift. The UN’s International Labour Organization says excessive overtime is an indicator of forced labour

• Multiple employees had the aforesaid registered address. Nine victims lived successful the aforesaid terraced location successful Enfield successful northbound London portion moving astatine the bakery

“It truly concerns maine that truthful galore reddish flags were missed, and that possibly the companies didn’t bash capable to support susceptible workers,” said Dame Sara Thornton, the erstwhile autarkic anti-slavery commissioner, who reviewed the BBC’s findings.

Det Sgt Chris Acourt, who led the Cambridgeshire Police investigation, said determination were “massive opportunities” that were missed to observe the slavery and alert authorities sooner.

“Ultimately, we could person been successful a concern to extremity that exploitation overmuch earlier had we been made aware,” helium said.

Like galore of the victims, Pavel - who has waived his ineligible close to anonymity - was stateless successful the Czech Republic erstwhile helium was approached by the pack successful 2016.

He says helium was lured successful with the mendacious committedness of a well-paid occupation successful the UK, wherever helium could astatine the clip enactment legally.

But the world of what helium experienced has near lasting scars, helium said.

“You can’t undo the harm to my intelligence health, it volition ever unrecorded with me.”

He was fixed conscionable a fewer pounds a time successful currency by his exploiters, contempt moving 70-hour weeks astatine the McDonald’s branch, helium said.

The pack - led by brothers Ernest and Zdenek Drevenak - confiscated the passports of each their victims and controlled them done fearfulness and violence, constabulary found.

“We were afraid,” Pavel said. “If we were to flight and spell home, [Ernest Drevenak] has a batch of friends successful our town, fractional the municipality were his mates.”

The pack “treated their victims similar livestock” feeding them conscionable capable “to support them going”, according to the Met’s Det Insp Melanie Lillywhite.

She said victims were controlled by “invisible handcuffs” - monitored by CCTV, prevented from utilizing phones oregon the net and incapable to talk English.

“They truly were chopped disconnected from the extracurricular world,” she said.

While the pack has been convicted successful court, Pavel believes McDonald’s besides shares immoderate responsibility.

“I bash consciousness partially exploited by McDonald’s due to the fact that they didn’t act,” helium said.

“I thought if I was moving for McDonalds, that they would beryllium a small spot much cautious, that they volition announcement it.”

Two erstwhile colleagues told the BBC the utmost hours the men worked - and the interaction it had connected them - was plain to see.

Like astir McDonald’s, the Caxton outlet - connected the A428 - is simply a franchise, which means an autarkic concern pays the fast-food elephantine to let it to tally the restaurant.

While victims worked determination betwixt 2015 and 2019, it was tally by 2 antithetic franchise-holders. We contacted both, but they did not respond.

McDonald’s UK declined our connection of an interview, but provided a connection connected behalf of the corp and its franchisees.

It said the existent franchisee - Ahmet Mustafa - had lone been “exposed to the afloat extent of these horrific, analyzable and blase crimes” successful the people of his co-operating with constabulary and the prosecution.

The institution said it cares “deeply” astir each employees and promised that - moving with franchisees - it would “play our portion alongside government, NGOs [Non-governmental organisations] and wider nine to assistance combat the evils of modern slavery”.

It besides said it commissioned an autarkic reappraisal successful October 2023 and had taken enactment to amended its quality to “detect and deter imaginable risks, specified as: shared slope accounts, excessive moving hours, and reviewing the usage of interpreters successful interviews”.

The bakery institution - Speciality Flatbread Ltd - ceased trading and went into medication successful 2022.

None of the supermarkets detected the slavery portion victims worked astatine the mill betwixt 2012 and 2019.

Dame Sara said she would person expected the retailers to beryllium doing “pretty thorough owed diligence”, adding that they usually “take overmuch greater attraction astir their ain marque products due to the fact that that’s their estimation that’s connected the line”.

Sainsbury’s said it stopped utilizing the institution arsenic an own-brand supplier successful 2016.

The others lone stopped sometime aft constabulary rescued the victims successful 2019.

Asda told the BBC it was “disappointed that a historical lawsuit has been recovered successful our proviso chain”, adding that it would “review each lawsuit identified and enactment upon the learnings”.

It said it had made 3 tract visits, but focused solely connected nutrient safety, and had stopped utilizing the mill successful 2020.

Tesco said inspections - supported by accusation from anti-slavery foundation Unseen - “revealed concerning moving practices” and the institution “ceased each orders from the supplier” successful 2020.

Waitrose said it pulled retired successful 2021 aft its audits led to “concerns astir mill standards and moving conditions”.

The Co-op said it made “a number” of unannounced inspections, including idiosyncratic interviews, but recovered nary signs of modern slavery, adding that the institution “actively enactment to tackle the shocking issue… some successful the UK and abroad”.

M&S said it suspended and delisted the institution successful 2020 aft it “became alert of imaginable breaches of ethical labour standards via the modern slavery helpline”.

The British Retail Consortium said workers’ payment was “fundamental” to retailers, who it said acted rapidly erstwhile concerns are raised.

“Nonetheless, it is important that the retail manufacture learns from cases similar this to continually fortify owed diligence,” it said.

Speciality Flatbreads’ manager Andrew Charalambous did not respond to written requests for comment, but successful a telephone telephone from the BBC said helium had supported the constabulary and prosecution, adding that the institution had been “thoroughly audited by apical instrumentality firms” and “everything we were doing was legal”.

He added: “From our position we didn’t interruption the instrumentality successful immoderate way, having said that, yes, possibly you’re close successful that possibly determination were definite telltale signs oregon things similar that, but that would person been for the HR section who were dealing with it connected the beforehand line.”

The Modern Slavery Act requires larger companies - including McDonald’s and the supermarkets, but not the mill - to people yearly statements outlining what they volition bash to tackle the issue.

Former Prime Minister Baroness Theresa May, who introduced the enactment arsenic location caput successful 2015, accepted the instrumentality failed to support victims successful this case, and believes it needs to beryllium “beefed up”.

The erstwhile PM - who present leads the Global Commission connected Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking - said the lawsuit was “frankly shocking” and shows “large companies not decently looking into their proviso chains”.

She said the planetary committee was reviewing what caller laws are needed “to guarantee enactment is being taken by companies”.

Responding to the case, the authorities said it would “set retired adjacent steps connected the contented of modern slavery successful owed course”.

It said it was “committed to tackling each forms of modern slavery” and would “pursue gangs and employers with each lever astatine our disposal portion ensuring that victims are provided with the enactment they need”.

Additional reporting by Mary O'Reilly and Maria Jevstafjeva

Details of organisations offering enactment for victims of modern slavery are disposable astatine bbc.co.uk/actionline