Freedom petition on way to Home Office >vid

HOME Secretary Alan Johnson said the Wilberforce Petition has helped to "redouble the efforts" of the Government to fight modern- day slavery.

The Hull West and Hessle MP accepted the petition on behalf of the Home Office, at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Emancipation and Slavery (Wise).

Mr Johnson said he had been humbled by the huge response to the campaign against slavery, which has attracted 100,000 signatures since it began in Hull, in September 2006.

As reported, the 100,000th name was signed on the 250th birthday of abolitionist and Hull MP William Wilberforce, earlier this month.

Mr Johnson said: "This is terrific. The petition draws attention to the same issues that Wilberforce fought against.

"Slavery still exists in different forms, in people trafficking for prostitution and in child slavery.

"This petition has reminded us we must redouble our efforts to stop it."

Mr Johnson said the petition was more than just names on paper and had made a real impact on Government policy, including a new strategy to tackle human trafficking, which will be published next month.

The petition also helped the abolition of slavery be reintroduced into the national curriculum.

Started by the Mail, Anti-Slavery International and Wise, which is part of the University of Hull, and Hull City Council, the petition has circled the globe.

Scores of notable figures have signed their name to it, including Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson and Gordon Brown.

Mitch Upfold, of Hull City Council, who played a major role in the petition, said: "Slavery is not unfinished business, and I think the city can now say it has done its best to fight it.

"What is important now is that the Government takes this issue forward – this is what the petition was always about."

There are about 12.3 million people still enslaved across the world. Shockingly, slavery even exists in the UK, and at this very moment an estimated 5,000 are trapped in forced prostitution or working without pay in our farms, factories and even homes.

Deputy Lord Mayor of Hull David Gemmell, who handed the petition over the Mr Johnson, said: "This is a weapon, started in Hull, that the politicians of all nations can use to tackle modern-day slavery."