Servitude trial

A judge has called it a monstrous and callous deceit: forcing destitute men into servitude. Tonight a husband and wife are in jail.

James John Connors and his wife Josie were sentenced for their part in crimes that took place at a caravan site near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire.

Ben Gumpert spoke to the media after the sentencing of James John and Josie Connors at Luton Crown Court today. They are serving prison sentences for forcing destitute men into servitude.

The jury in the trial of the Connors family, who are accused of forcing men into forced labour, have been given a majority direction by the judge.

Seven members of the same Irish travelling family are accused of keeping workers in a state of servitude and forcing them to perform unpaid work.

Tommy Connors Senior, 52, his four sons and his daughter and her husband face a total of 20 charges at Luton crown court.

It follows a raid on the Green Acres caravan site in Bedfordshire in September last year.

A jury at Luton Crown Court's been hearing from a man who was allegedly held in servitude by a family at a campsite in Bedfordshire.

The man claimed he saw another worker at the Green Acre site near Leighton Buzzard attacked with a claw hammer. Seven members of the Connors family deny the charges.

The prosecution has finished outlining its case for the trial of seven members of the same family who are accused of holding vulnerable men and forcing them to work for nothing.

Thomas Connors together with his four sons, daughter and son-in-law deny charges of inflicting servitude and forced labour. The trial will resume on Monday.