Almost £500,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on providing legal aid for a family of travellers who were found guilty of keeping a private workforce, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. 

The BBC reports:

A family of travellers who were found guilty of forced labour were given nearly £500,000 in legal support.

Five members of the Connors family were jailed last December after being found guilty of keeping a private workforce.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that £461,363 was paid defending the family, including during a three-month trial.

You can read the full story here. 

I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.