Rescued ‘slave’ criticises police raid at Bedfordshire caravan site

Man helped from Travellers’ site brands Leighton Buzzard arrests ‘rubbish’ as nine men refuse to help investigation One of the men labelled by police as a modern-day slave at a Travellers’ site in Bedfordshire has accused officers of heavy-handed tactics and described the the arrest of five people on slavery charges as “complete rubbish”. Police continue to question four men and are looking for two further suspects. One heavily pregnant woman, who is expected to give birth imminently, has been released on bail. No charges have yet been brought. Nine of the 24 men allegedly used as slaves have refused to help police with their inquiries. DCI Sean O’Neil, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crimes unit, said: “Those people who we continue to help are appreciative of the support that is on offer, but it will take some time to work through with them what has happened.” He said he was confident the operation, which is dubbed Operation Netwing, had broken up a criminal network. “The new legislation has allowed the investigation more scope and takes into account emotional rather than physical harm. I am confident that while the investigation is in its early stages this is a family-run ‘business’ and is an organised crime group that has been broken up by the Netwing operation,” he said. One of the men taken by police, who did not want to be named, said he had been living in a caravan on a Traveller plot on the Greenacre caravan park near Leighton Buzzard for several years, working as a paver and was being paid. “I think it’s all a load of rubbish and they just hate Travellers,” said the man, who is in his 50s. “Plenty of men who were here wanted to be here and they were getting paid. The police coming in heavy-handed like this is just wrong.” More than 200 police officers raided the site in the early hours of Sunday, aided by a helicopter and dog patrols. Armed officers were also present. Four men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of slavery offences, while 24 men were taken to a medical centre. Police said the men had been kept as virtual slaves in appalling conditions, forced to work long hours doing physically demanding jobs without pay. However, the man told the Guardian he had worked for 15 years with one Traveller family who had provided him with work and accommodation when he had nowhere else to go. After refusing to answer police questions he made his way back to the site. He said: “The police told me I couldn’t come back but I told them it was my home and if I wanted to go back I

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