British boxing champion Bilal Fawaz, who was trafficked to the UK aged 14, is still unable to obtain a British passport more than 20 years later, prompting his promoter Eddie Hearn to say the government should be "embarrassed" by the delay. Fawaz's immigration status means he cannot fight abroad or take his family on holiday, despite holding the British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles and having represented England as an amateur. The case, highlighted in a new BBC documentary, raises questions about how long-term victims of trafficking and modern slavery are treated by the UK's immigration system.

Fawaz, now 38, says he was confined, forced to work and denied schooling after being taken to London, later entering the care system and picking up minor convictions as a vulnerable teenager. He did not receive a work permit until he was 33, having twice been held in immigration detention before a judge found no lawful grounds to detain him. Since turning professional in 2022 he has won 12 of his fights, beating Ryan Kelly in May to defend his titles, while the Home Office says it does not comment on individual cases.