100,000 sign Hull anti-slavery petition

THE drive to end modern-day slavery has reached a momentous milestone – on William Wilberforce's 250th birthday.

Today, the 100,000th signature will be added to a Hull-led petition to stop slavery, including child labour, forced prostitution and human trafficking.

Two hundred years ago, people in East Yorkshire rallied behind Wilberforce when the Hull MP launched a petition to end transatlantic slave trade.

The Mail's Fight For Freedom campaign, run in partnership with Hull City Council and Anti-Slavery International, has continued his fight.

More than 12 million people are still enslaved across the world.

Shockingly, slavery even exists in the UK and at this moment, an estimated 5,000 are trapped in forced prostitution or working without pay in our farms, factories and homes.

The petition, launched in September 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, has circled the globe.

It has drawn support from US civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Home Secretary and West Hull and Hessle MP Alan Johnson said: "To have so many people sign the petition from so many walks of life shows Wilberforce's vision is still alive today. The campaign is a fitting tribute to his legacy.

"He did a magnificent thing and, while slavery is a very different problem today, it nevertheless exists."

Pop star Mutya Buena, who will be performing at the Freedom Festival in Hull at the weekend, was adding her name to the petition today.

Mr Johnson will accept the 100,000 names on behalf of the Home Office on a visit to Hull's Wilberforce Museum later this year.