In December 2020, the UK human rights law firm, Leigh Day, filed a legal claim against British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Brands on behalf of several thousand tobacco farmers and their families. The claim alleges that the companies profited from child labour, exploitation and dangerous conditions on tobacco farms in Malawi and forced families into debt bondage. The claim was triggered by a 2018 Guardian investigation into labour exploitation, including child labour, on Malawi tobacco farms.

In response a spokesperson for BAT said: “BAT takes human rights very seriously and expects all employees and suppliers to respect and uphold them. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the specifics of this situation, given the possibility of future litigation.”

Imperial said: “We take the issue of child and forced labour very seriously and do not condone exploitative practices in our supply chains, as made clear in our code of conduct which is published on our corporate website."