This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25040741
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Women 'held as slaves for 30 years' | Women 'held as slaves for 30 years' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Three women have been "rescued" from a south London house as police investigate claims they were held as slaves for at least 30 years. | |
| Police arrested a 67-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman in Lambeth. | |
| Last month officers were contacted by Freedom Charity after it received a call from a woman saying she had been held against her will for decades. | Last month officers were contacted by Freedom Charity after it received a call from a woman saying she had been held against her will for decades. |
| A Malaysian woman, 69, an Irish woman, 57, and a British woman, 30, were all rescued from the house. | |
| The women, who are said to be "highly traumatised", are now in safe accommodation. | The women, who are said to be "highly traumatised", are now in safe accommodation. |
| Police said they were not related to each other and the 30-year-old had spent her whole life in servitude. Officers are trying to establish whether she was born in the house. | |
| Det Insp Kevin Hyland, from the Metropolitan Police's Human Trafficking Unit, said: "We have seen some cases when people have been held for 10 years, but we have never seen anything of this magnitude before." | |
| He added that the women had controlled lives and spent most of it indoors, but they had some freedom. | |
| Police said the facts behind the situation were being slowly established as specialist workers were assisting the women. Officers said there was no evidence of sexual abuse. | |
| 'Absolutely terrified' | 'Absolutely terrified' |
| "We applaud the actions of Freedom Charity and are working in partnership to support these victims who appear to have been held for over 30 years," Mr Hyland said. | |
| "We have launched an extensive investigation to establish the facts surrounding these very serious allegations. | "We have launched an extensive investigation to establish the facts surrounding these very serious allegations. |
| "A television documentary on forced marriages relating to the work of Freedom Charity was the catalyst that prompted one of the victims to call for help and led to their rescue." | "A television documentary on forced marriages relating to the work of Freedom Charity was the catalyst that prompted one of the victims to call for help and led to their rescue." |
| Aneeta Prem, founder of Freedom Charity, told Sky News the alleged victims were able to walk out of the house after receiving help from the charity. | Aneeta Prem, founder of Freedom Charity, told Sky News the alleged victims were able to walk out of the house after receiving help from the charity. |
| She said: "We started in-depth to talks to them when they could. It had to be pre-arranged. They gave us set times when they were able to speak to us. | She said: "We started in-depth to talks to them when they could. It had to be pre-arranged. They gave us set times when they were able to speak to us. |
| "It was planned that they would be able to walk out of the property. The police were on standby." | "It was planned that they would be able to walk out of the property. The police were on standby." |
| The two people who were arrested were considered the "heads of the family", Ms Prem said, adding that the rescued women felt they were in "massive danger" and were "absolutely terrified". | The two people who were arrested were considered the "heads of the family", Ms Prem said, adding that the rescued women felt they were in "massive danger" and were "absolutely terrified". |
| She added that the women were extreme brave to pick up the phone and contact the charity for help. | |
| Ms Prem said: "They are going to have to try and rebuild their lives and that is going to be very difficult for women that have spent 30 years being held against their will. | |
| "I think it is also a story of great hope that despite this horrendous tragedy of being kept in these circumstances they are now free and they are able to start to rebuild their lives slowly." |