Two plead guilty to Milton Keynes gangmaster offences

10-Dec-2019 - Last updated on 10-Dec-2019 at 09:21 GMT

The GLAA declined to confirm the name of the processing firm involved in the incident

Two men have been accused of gangmaster offences after illegally supplying workers to a food firm in the Milton Keynes area.

John Day, 54, of Whittington Chase, Kingsmead, and Mark Baker, 41, of Nevill Close, Hanslope, pleaded guilty to acting as unlicensed gangmasters after appearing before Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 3 December.

The charges involved Day and Baker supplying workers into a food processing company without a Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) licence.

Unnamed firm

The GLAA declined to confirm the name of the processing firm involved in the incident.

Earlier this month, an illegal gangmaster and his wife were jailed for exploiting at least 41 workers at a catering butchers in the Merseyside area, following an investigation by the GLAA.

The pair were arrested and questioned following a multi-agency day of action in March 2018, titled Operation Brewer, which saw the victims removed from Birtwistles food processing factory in Irlam.

The victims, from Romania, were then taken to a centre to be safeguarded.

Using illegal labour provided by unlicensed gangmasters is also an offence that carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a fine.