FORMER Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the Government to give more help to modern slavery victims on a visit to Oxford.

Ahead of a talk at Oxford Town Hall on Wednesday, Mr Brown said: “William Wilberforce said it was ‘our duty to put a stop as speedily as possible to the traffic and sale of our fellow men’. Two hundred years later, slavery still exists in our country.

“That reality demands action and I back campaigning by Anneliese Dodds MP, Councillor Tom Hayes, and the Co-operative Party to ensure modern slavery victims get more Government support.”

Mr Hayes has called for the Government to give victims more than 45 days’ support.

Thames Valley Police is currently running a campaign to clamp down on modern slavery in the community entitled 'Hidden Harm'.