Key Facts
- •BSG (Applicant), a 24-year-old Somali national, pleaded guilty to drug offences (Aylesbury and Canterbury offences) committed when he was 17.
- •BSG was a victim of modern slavery (VMS) during the period of the offences.
- •The SCA made a Conclusive Grounds decision confirming BSG's VMS status.
- •BSG was sentenced to 28 months' detention for the Aylesbury offences and 24 months' detention for the Canterbury offences.
- •BSG's legal representatives failed to advise him of the potential defence under s45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015).
- •The police failed to refer BSG to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
Legal Principles
Anonymity orders can be granted to protect VMS from reprisals.
R v L [2017] EWCA Crim 2129 at [9-15]
Section 45 of the MSA 2015 provides a defence for victims of slavery or trafficking who commit an offence.
Modern Slavery Act 2015
Once a defendant raises the s45 MSA 2015 defence, the burden is on the prosecution to disprove it.
R v MK [2018] EWCA Crim 667
A VMS who did not raise the defence may appeal if their conviction is unsafe due to the prosecution not being in the public interest.
R v AAJ [2021] EWCA Crim 1278 at [39(iv)]
Decisions of the SCA are not admissible at trial but may be adduced on appeal.
R v AAD [2022] EWCA Crim 2022 and R v AFU [2023] EWCA Crim 23
A guilty plea may be appealed if it resulted from incorrect legal advice that deprived the defendant of a defence that would probably have succeeded.
R v Tredget [2022] EWCA Crim 108
The court may receive fresh evidence if it is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice.
s23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968
Outcomes
Extensions of time granted to appeal.
Applicant was a child and largely dependent on his legal representatives' advice, who failed to advise him of the defence under s45(4) MSA 2015. Police also failed to refer him to the NRM.
Appeal against conviction for Canterbury offences allowed; convictions quashed.
Applicant's account that he offended as a direct consequence of being a VMS is credible. The s45(4) MSA 2015 defence would likely have succeeded had it been raised.
Appeal against sentence for Aylesbury offences allowed; sentences quashed and substituted with detention and training orders of 24 months (concurrently).
Original sentences were unlawful. Detention and training orders of 24 months were deemed appropriate given the circumstances.