Vernon gave his support to the Blue Blindfold Campaign launch in the House of Commons on Tuesday 29^th January.  The campaign, initiated by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, aims to create greater awareness amongst the public about human trafficking through a series of distinct posters displayed on buses throughout the UK with the message, ‘Don’t close your eyes to human trafficking’. 

Vernon said, “This is an excellent initiative using contemporary and eye-catching advertising to alert people to the fact that human trafficking is a reality in our towns and cities.” 

Nick Kinsella, Head of the UK Human Trafficking Centre said, “It’s important for people to realise that this type of crime is not visible. The victim’s do not have a voice because they are controlled and they are too scared to ask for help. People must open their eyes to the fact that someone in their community or the person down the road could be a trafficked person.”

The UKHTC, established in 2006, is the country’s leading centre for expertise helping to deliver operational, tactical and legal support to police forces and other law enforcement agencies engaged in tackling human trafficking. The Blue Blindfold campaign is another example of the ways in which the UKHTC are tackling this crime. 

The UKHTC has acted in an advisory capacity for police operations across the country, a number of which have resulted in successful prosecutions for offences relating to human trafficking.