Ministers are drawing up laws that would require large British and overseas businesses to carry out due diligence to ensure their supply chains are free from forced labour and human rights abuses, with products liable to be removed from sale where checks have not been done.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, set out the plans in a letter to parliament’s business and trade committee. He said the government would introduce legislation requiring “mandatory human rights due diligence” for UK businesses with a global turnover of more than £350m.

Businesses based overseas will also fall within scope if their UK sales exceed £350m.

Under the plans, if forced labour is identified and a business has failed to conduct the necessary checks, its products could be removed from store shelves, warehouses and online marketplaces.

The government has not yet given a specific timetable for the legislation.

In his letter, Reynolds conceded that the UK’s current framework for preventing forced labour was “fragmented and overly reliant on voluntary action and reporting measures”.

He said that while the Modern Slavery Act was “world leading at the time of its introduction” in 2015, “international standards and legislative practice have since evolved, leaving the UK out of step with G7 partners and other major trading economies”.

In June, the US proposed tariffs on 60 economies, including the UK, over alleged failures to stop goods made with forced labour.

Reynolds said an empowered regulator would provide a “targeted mechanism for tackling some of the most serious abuses in global supply chains and protecting responsible businesses from unfair competition”.

“This package will safeguard the competitiveness of responsible businesses, strengthen confidence in UK markets and help ensure that goods linked to forced labour do not reach UK consumers,” he said.

“The British public rightly expect that products sold in the United Kingdom are not tainted by forced labour. Responsible businesses should not be undercut by those that turn a blind eye to exploitation.”

Liam Byrne, chair of the select committee, said it was an “outrage” that the UK had “weaker defences against forced labour imports than either the EU or the United States”.

He called on the government to provide clarity on when the legislation would be delivered, adding that it would require a regulator with the “resources to enforce the rules”.

In July 2025, the committee warned the Financial Conduct Authority against easing listing rules for Shein over concerns about labour practices in the retailer’s supply chain.

In Northern Ireland, the government intends to apply the European Union’s forced labour regulation under the Windsor framework introduced after Brexit. This will also mean goods made with forced labour can be withdrawn from the market there.

Ultra-fast-fashion retailers such as Shein and Boohoo are among those to have faced scrutiny over their supply chains in recent years.

In January 2025, MPs accused Shein of behaviour that “bordered on contempt” after its bosses repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether its products contained cotton from China, and specifically from Xinjiang.

Shein later abandoned plans for a London listing after regulatory setbacks and criticism of its human rights record.

Separately, forced labour claims brought by former migrant workers against Dyson over its Malaysian suppliers are due to go to trial in April 2027, after a High Court ruling in January.

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