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<p>We are aware of labour rights issues and allegations of human rights abuses in
the Thai fishing industry, though not until now of the specific allegations made by
the Guardian. We regularly raise our concerns about labour rights in Thailand with
the relevant Thai authorities, for example during the UK-Thailand Strategic Dialogue
in May 2013. The Guardian's report contains very serious allegations. We look to the
Thai authorities to investigate. <br><br>Given the acute and continual political uncertainty
in Thailand our ability to raise these issues with the authorities at this point is
limited. However, we take the allegations very seriously and will look for opportunities
to raise our concerns. At a minimum, we will continue to press for an improvement
in labour rights in Thailand through ongoing negotiations towards an EU-Thailand Free
Trade Agreement. <br><br>The UK remains a global leader in tackling human trafficking
and slavery as shown by its recent introduction of a Modern Slavery Bill. We welcome
any investigation which sheds light on these horrific allegations. <br><br>We also
launched our action plan on business and human rights in 2013, becoming the first
country to set out guidance to companies on integrating human rights into their operations.
We engage regularly with British companies as part of our efforts to boost UK trade
and inward investment, but at the same time we also clearly set our commitment to
protecting human rights and its expectations of UK companies in this area.</p>
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