Author: Mark Kleinman, Sky News, Published on: 5 October 2017

“Home Secretary calls in FTSE-100 chiefs to modern slavery talks”

... Britain's biggest companies will hold talks with Amber Rudd next week as the Government seeks private sector help to eradicate the "barbaric crime" of modern slavery… the Home Secretary has invited chief executives from companies including Anglo American, Aviva, Barclays, BT Group, HSBC and WPP to pledge renewed public support for efforts to stamp out slavery from their supply chains… The [Modern Slavery Act] requires all companies with a turnover of £36m or more that undertake business in the UK to report publicly on what they are doing to ensure there is no slavery in their supply chains… Among [these companies, Aviva] … said it would improve supplier due diligence and identify appropriate performance indicators for future measurement. The increasingly complex and global nature of multinational companies' supply chains has heightened the risk of household-name firms finding themselves embroiled in controversy over modern slavery and human trafficking activities… "This will just become another big regulatory burden unless more is done to co-ordinate. The UK needs to lead and set a standard that others follow," [one company source] said.

[Refers to Anglo American, Aviva, Barclays, BT Group, HSBC, WPP]