District senator and lawyer Ike Ekweremadu, 60, has been charged alongside Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 with conspiracy to arrange and/or facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

The pair were remanded in custody and were due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court today.

Charges were brought against the pair, who are from Nigeria, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime team.

The politician was recently made a visiting professor at the University of Lincoln.

A child has now been safeguarded.

The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022, the force said.

A spokesperson for the University of Lincoln said said: "Visiting professors are often, as is in this case, non-resident at the university, unpaid and advisory.

"We are deeply concerned about the nature of these allegations but as this is an active police investigation, we cannot comment further at this stage."