Leighton Buzzard ‘slavery’ case: four men remanded in custody

Four members of same family appear in court charged with enslaving ‘vulnerable’ men following police raid at Travellers’ site Four members of the same family appeared in court yesterday charged with enslaving men discovered at a Travellers’ site in Bedfordshire after a 200-strong police raid on Sunday. James “Jimmy” Connors, 23, Tommy Connors, 27, and Patrick Connors, 19, appeared before Luton magistrates, along with their brother-in-law James “Big Jim” Connors, 33. The four men were charged with conspiracy to commit offences of holding others in servitude and requiring them to perform forced labour. James Connors is charged with six offences relating to three of the four alleged victims, and Jimmy, Tommy and Patrick Connors are each charged with four offences, relating to two of the victims. Ben Gumpert, prosecuting, told the district judge Leigh Smith that the four victims should not be named in any press reports since they were vulnerable. As Smith denied the four men bail – on charges brought under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which came into force last year – four women in the court burst into tears. One cried out: “What am I going to do with my children?” The charges followed an investigation by Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit and relate to alleged offences against the men who were living at the Greenacres Travellers’ site at Great Billington, near Leighton Buzzard. The four-month undercover operation culminated in a raid by more than 200 police officers in the early hours of Sunday, aided by a helicopter and dog patrols. The defendants also live with their families at the caravan site. The four men confirmed their names, ages and addresses, and told the court they understood the charges. The men are due to appear at Luton crown court on 5 December. Slavery Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.