Government exploring making farms and supermarkets pay to bring foreign farm workers to the UK

Seventy per cent of workers on the seasonal worker scheme had accrued debt to come to the UK, according to a Defra-commissioned study - (Getty)

British farms and supermarkets could tackle the exploitation of fruit and vegetable pickers by paying their travel and visa costs, according to a government-commissioned report.

The report, undertaken for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), follows growing allegations of mistreatment of migrant workers on the seasonal worker visa, including a legal challenge brought by an Indonesian fruit picker against the UK government for human rights breaches.