Olympics will be magnet for sex trafficking gangs, warns Yvette Cooper

THE OLYMPICS will make London a "magnet" for human trafficking unless ministers launch an urgent crackdown, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper warned today.

Criminal gangs will use next year's Games to force women and girls into the sex trade and push men into forced labour, Ms Cooper said.

She called on the Government to learn the lessons of the Athens Games in 2004, saying the number of human trafficking victims doubled due to poor prevention efforts.

In a speech to the Stopping Traffick conference, she said: "There are fears that the London 2012 Olympics could increase the trafficking of vulnerable people into the UK.

"Studies worldwide show that international sporting events, where people move across borders, are used by criminals under the cover of tourism to exploit women and children. The Government must wake up to the risk that traffickers will seek to profit from the 2012 Games and take action to make sure this event does not make the situation worse."

Ms Cooper claimed that the Lib-Con coalition was not doing enough to deal with the "horrific crime" of human trafficking, condemning the failure to back co-ordinated EU action on sex trafficking.

Conference organisers said almost 4,000 women are brought into the UK each year to work within the sex trade, but Britain was one of only two EU member states that have not opted into the directive.

"Despite saying tackling trafficking is a priority, ministers are weakening essential safeguards leaving victims at greater risk and the criminals harder to prosecute," Ms Cooper said.

"That's why the Government must do more to make the UK a hostile territory for traffickers. They should also use next year's Olympic Games to make clear that buying sex from imprisoned women is not a sport."

Immigration minister Damian Green insisted the Government was "committed" to tackling trafficking and had put in place many of the commitments in the EU directive. He added: "We are looking closely at the latest draft of the directive and considering its merits. If we conclude that opting in brings benefits to the UK, we will apply to do so."