Seasonal workers who left their home countries to plug labour gaps on UK farms told a House of Lords committee yesterday of the mistreatment they experienced while working under the government’s agricultural visa scheme.

Sybil Msezane, Vadim Sardov and Andrey Okhrimenko featured in a Bureau of Investigative Journalism series that exposed the issues migrant workers faced on British farms. They were asked to give evidence of the poor working conditions and exploitation they experienced to the horticultural sector committee.

The workers described the threats they received from farm management and supervisors for not picking fruit or vegetables quickly enough or for making complaints about their living or work conditions…

TBIJ’s investigation found workers were often housed in unsafe and unsanitary conditions…

TBIJ reporter Emiliano Mellino, who alongside Rudra Pangeni interviewed nearly 50 seasonal workers about their time on UK farms, also gave evidence in parliament. He spoke about his findings and was asked what recommendations the committee should make to the government to improve the visa scheme…

He also recommended removing the link between labour enforcement and immigration enforcement…

The evidence session formed part of a wider inquiry into the future of the horticultural sector…