Eleanor Lyons is a British public official who has served as the United KingdomâÂÂs Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) since December 2023.
Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, Lyons was Deputy ChildrenâÂÂs Commissioner for England, advocating and championing for the rights of all children in England, and particularly those who were vulnerable, in care, or in contact with social services. She previously worked in political consultancy as a Director at Portland Communications (November 2019âÂÂJuly 2020). Between November 2017 and August 2019 she served as a Special Adviser.
Lyonsâ appointment drew criticism from Labour MP Jess Phillips, who described her as a âÂÂConservative patsy who will do whatever they wantâÂÂ, as the post had previously been held by âÂÂexperts and senior police officers.â Phillips said that the Government "...could possibly have anyone who knows anything about slavery because no one who knew anything about it would tell the Government they were doing a good job. They are scared and inexperienced and are happy to fail British children being traffiked in ever higher numbers and women being brought here repeatedly raped".
Lyonsâ Strategic Plan (2024âÂÂ2026) covers her full three-year term as Commissioner. The plan was developed following wide consultation with survivors, civil society, and devolved governments. The plan sets out three core objectives:
These objectives are underpinned by two cross-cutting themes: integrating lived experience (including a proposed Survivors Advisory Council) and improving knowledge and research to strengthen the evidence base.
As Commissioner, Lyons has overseen a programme of research reports and policy briefs:
She has also published opinion pieces on survivor voice and supply chain legislation.
Lyons has launched several initiatives aligned to her plan, including work on:
Lyons has given evidence to multiple parliamentary committees on modern slavery and exploitation. She has twice appeared in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee (2024, 2025)
and in front of the House of Lords Committee on Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee. Alongside this she has appeared in front of the Business and Trade Select Committee, and the Joint Committee on Human Rights. In these she called for the establishment of a Single Enforcement Body and has called for a new cross-government modern slavery strategy and mandatory human rights due diligence legislation.
She has been an active media commentator, including appearances on the Today Programme, Sky News, ITN News and other outlets. In February 2024, The Independent reported modern slavery was âÂÂno longer the priorityâ for the Home Office and that the IASC budget would be cut annually In the Prison Service Journal she stressed the importance of amplifying survivorsâ voices: âÂÂSurvivors have told us what they needâÂÂnow itâÂÂs time to deliver.âÂÂ; Lyons said her budget would be reduced by 5% each year she was in post and that she had no permanent staff in 2024, requiring special permission to recruit outside the Home Office.
In the Prison Service Journal she stressed the importance of amplifying survivorsâ voices: 'Survivors have told us what they needâÂÂnow itâÂÂs time to deliver.'
Lyons has also stressed the need for modern slavery to be seen as a crime against individuals and âÂÂnot be conflated with immigration offences.âÂÂ
She has also criticised flaws in a visa route that enabled âÂÂhorrificâ exploitation, describing the victim support system as âÂÂdeeply broken,â and said record NRM referrals showed the âÂÂshocking scaleâ of exploitation in the UK.
In August 2025, Lyons announced a formal review into adult services websites (ASWs), calling them a âÂÂhotbed for traffickingâ and would have a "full call for evidence on why these websites are so damaging. At a bare minimum, they should be far more heavily regulated".