The third annual human trafficking report listed Romania as the most prevalent country of origin for victims for the third consecutive year, with more than half exploited for sex, and Poland as the most common country for labour trafficking.

Although the number of victims of slavery in Britain is hard to pin down, studies have shown there has been an increase in human trafficking in recent years, prompting the government to prepare a bill to more effectively tackle slavery offences.

Karen Bradley, who was appointed modern slavery and organised crime minister earlier this year, described modern slavery as an appalling crime that has "no place in today's society".

Yet these figures show it is taking place here - often out of sight - in shops, fields, building sites and behind the curtains of ordinary streets," Bradley said in a statement as the NCA report was released.

Almost 30 million people are enslaved worldwide, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labour, victims of debt bondage or born into servitude, according to rights group Walk Free Foundation that produces the Global Slavery Index.  Read more here

Fifty five potential victims of human trafficking were identified in Scotland last year. Almost a third (30%) of them experienced sexual exploitation followed by labour exploitation (14%) and criminal exploitation (9%).Fifty five potential victims of human trafficking were identified in Scotland last year. In March 2014, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced that the Scottish government plans to create a dedicated Human Trafficking Bill for Scotland which will make Scotland a "hostile environment for human traffickers".  It will build on the work done by Labour MSP Jenny Marra who had proposed her own bill.