‘I didn’t expect this in the UK’: Modern slavery expert receives death threats | Migration

A leading expert on modern slavery who sues employers on behalf of exploited foreign workers, recovering thousands of pounds for them in the process, has received death threats.

Aké Achi, founder and executive director of Migrants at Work, an organization that protects workers’ rights, says the letter was sent to his home.

The letter purported to be from people employed to “maintain order” and claimed that Achi had been “busy causing a lot of trouble and great loss to our client” before warning him that his “time was up”. The letter also threatened to harm his “partner and children” and made clear that his family home was under surveillance.

Achi challenges dozens of approved sponsors who employ migrant workers every year. He has no idea which company is behind the threats or how they found his address.

“I never thought [my work] It would bring me so much trouble – to the point that someone would threaten me and my family. I would have expected to receive this letter if I had been in Africa, in my home country. [Ivory Coast]but not in the UK.”

Achi expressed frustration at the way West Midlands Police handled the threat. The case was closed 20 minutes after he shared a photo of the letter because it “did not fall under any criminal category”, meaning the officer was unable to record a criminal offence.

However, when police informed him that the incident was being recorded as harassment, Achi was optimistic. But within minutes of receiving that text message, he received another saying there was “insufficient evidence”. A West Midlands Police spokesperson said the letter was “subject to a number of reviews” and that “the investigation has been closed pending further information coming to light”.

The growing evidence of abuse of people on work visas makes the services provided by Migrants at Work increasingly important. Some migrants have paid thousands of pounds in illegal recruitment fees only to find there are no jobs for them. Others have had their wages stolen.

In the run-up to the general election, Yvette Cooper, now Home Secretary, promised an inquiry into the treatment of migrant care workers – the group that makes up the majority of Achi’s clients.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also told the Observer The party’s commitment to establish a new single regulator, the Fair Work Agency (FWA), to strengthen workers’ rights. Citizens Advice, one of several national organisations referring clients to Achi, recently said the design of the FWA must ensure workers who are vulnerable because of their immigration status can access help safely.

Achi, who describes his organization as “the last line of defense” for migrant workers, said the threat would not stop his work.