Staines Town accuse landlord of breaching the modern slavery act

Non-league Staines Town have suspended all football operations with immediate effect due to a dispute with their landlord. Making the announcement on Tuesday, the club issued an extraordinary statement in which numerous allegations were made against Downing LLP, including breaches of the modern slavery act.

Downing LLP have strenuously denied what they describe as “wild allegations”, labelling them as an attempt to deflect attention from mismanagement of the club by owner Joe Dixon.

Staines Town sit bottom of Isthmian League Southern Central Division and are due to host Chipstead on Saturday but, as things stand, that fixture as well as all further ones this season will not be fulfilled due to the row with Downing LLP, an investment organisation that own Staines’s ground, Wheatsheaf Park, via its purchasing in 2008 of The Thames Club, the health club it is attached to.

The dispute has been raging for some years and reached a climax with Tuesday’s statement. It read: “Staines Town Football Club (STFC) regrets to announce that pursuant to third party breaches of Section 54 of The Modern Slavery Act 2015 and other information that has come to light, we are forced to temporarily suspend all primary operations including but not limited to competitive fixtures, until a thorough investigation into the practices of Downing LLP has been concluded by the relevant authorities.

“It has also come to our attention through both substantive and vast evidence from various sources, that Downing LLP, who control and fund the operation of our Landlord, The Thames Club, may be involved through its other holdings in the financing of large scale bribery and corruption.”

The statement went on to say that the club has evidence Downing LLP “may