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		</div><p>Thousands of clothing industry workers in an English city are feared to be receiving £3 (€3.52) to £4 (€4.70) an hour in “conditions of modern slavery”, MPs have heard.</p>
<p>Conservative Andrew Bridgen asked ministers to meet with him to discuss allegations he made connected to Leicester.</p>
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<p>He offered no further specific details when raising the issue in business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) questions.</p>
<p>Speaking in the Commons, Mr Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) said: “Would the minister agree for a meeting with me to discuss the situation in Leicester, where I believe there are approximately 10,000 people in the clothing industry being paid £3 to £4 an hour in conditions of modern slavery?”</p>
<p>Business minister Kelly Tolhurst replied: “Yes, I would be absolutely happy to meet with him.</p>
<p>“This is a particular sector that has been under focus, there has been much work that has been carried out by HMRC and cross-border agencies – HMRC enforce the national living wage – but I’d be happy to get any details that he particularly has that’d be helpful.”</p>
<p>The minimum wage is currently £8.21 (€9.64) an hour for people aged 25 and over, which will increase to £8.72 (€10.24) from April 2020.</p>
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<p>For workers aged 21 to 24, it is £7.70 (€9.04) an hour rising to £8.20 (€9.63) in April, for 18 to 20-year-olds it is £6.15 (€7.22) rising to £6.45 (€7.22), for under-18s it is £4.35 (€5.11) rising to £4.55 (€5.34) and for apprentices it is £3.90 (€4.58) rising to £4.15 (€4.87).</p>
<p>Labour’s Rachel Reeves, who chaired the Beis committee in the last parliament, said the Government was offering “warm words” on enforcing the minimum wage.</p>
<p>She said: “The truth is in the last 10 years just nine firms have been prosecuted and fined for non-payment of the minimum wage.</p>
<p>“Where those fines are levied they are only half of the level that they could be levied at.</p>
<blockquote><p>Why is that if this is such an area of importance for this Government?</p></blockquote>
<p>Ms Tolhurst replied: “I would like to correct her that there have been 14 prosecutions for the national minimum wage.</p>
<p>“But also what I’d like to make clear to the House is there are other ways in making sure employers pay without just bringing prosecutions.”</p>
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<p>Shadow minister Rachael Maskell said there has been a “decade of workers being exploited under this Government’s watch”.</p>
<p>Ms Tolhurst described this as a “complete misrepresentation” of the Government’s work over the last 10 years.</p>
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