Wolfie Smith and the mysterious case of slavery, by RICHARD LITTLEJOHN When the story broke we were told it was "Britain's worst-ever slavery case." Three women had been freed from captivity in a house in South London. Campaigners lined up to tell us that Britain was now the slavery capital of the world and we were all to blame. It was as if Wilberforce never happened. Comparisons were drawn with the recent case in Cleveland, Ohio, where three women escaped after being held as sex slaves for almost a decade. Even as the Lambeth slavery story began to unravel, Home Secretary Theresa May took to a Sunday newspaper to tell us we were all responsible for slavery in Britain and we must be more vigilant But from the off there was something about this story that didn't add up. If this really was "Britain's worst-ever slavery case," why did it take the police a whole month after the original tip-off to raid the property in Lambeth where the women were allegedly being held? And if their captors really were as evil as the Cleveland rapist Ariel Castro, why were they released on bail? By this stage, however, the hysteria was in full swing. The rolling news channels went into overdrive and everyone wanted a piece of the action. Inevitably, all sense of perspective was thrown out of the window. A conga line of "anti-slavery activists" was wheeled out to exaggerate the scale of the problem and demand that "something must be done." Even as this bizarre story began to unravel, the Home Secretary Theresa May took to a Sunday newspaper to tell us we were all responsible for slavery in Britain and we must be more vigilant. While admitting that "we still don't know the facts behind the case in London" - as if that was going to stop her - she insisted: "Modern slavery is an affront to every single one of us. It is all around us, hidden in plain sight. It is walking our streets, supplying shops and supermarkets, working in fields, factories and nail bars . . . That's why she was introducing a Modern Slavery Bill and appointing an Anti-Slavery Commissioner. I thought we already had laws aimed at preventing slavery and prosecuting people-traffickers. A couple of months ago, I seem to remember reading that several members of the "travelling community" had been convicted of keeping a number of men in captivity and forcing them to work. One of the alleged Lambeth captors is reported to be Aravindan Balakrishnan - aka 'Comrade Bala' - a self-styled 'spiritual leader of the Workers' and the model for Wolfie Smith (pictured) We mustn't, of course, forget that according to the Boys in the Bubble, Theresa fancies herself as the new Mrs Thatcher and is lining up a leadership bid after Call Me Dave loses the next election. So any opportunity to raise her profile is seized with both hands. Yesterday, she was all over the place promising to "crack down" on domestic violence. She'll be cracking down on something else by the end of the week. The most absurd intervention came from a migrant welfare group that blamed the "savage cuts." Apparently, the argument goes, because the Government restricts access to benefits, thousands of immigrants are forced into slavery. Where do they find these people? Look, I'm not denying there are problems with slavery in Britain or trying to belittle whatever ordeal these three woman in Lambeth may have endured. But this case is clearly not as originally billed. On Sunday, police revealed that the women met their captors through a "shared political ideology." I assumed we weren't talking UKIP here. Now we learn that they belonged to a Communist collective in Brixton, with the catchy title of The Workers" Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. My first reaction was that for the past four decades they appear to have been prisoners of Wolfie Smith and the Tooting Popular Front. Power to the People! I was nearer the mark than I imagined. Turns out the collective in question actually inspired the late John Sullivan to write Citizen Smith. One of the alleged Lambeth captors is reported to be Aravindan Balakrishnan - aka "Comrade Bala" - self-styled "spiritual leader of the Workers" etc and the model for Wolfie. You couldn't make it up. One of the alleged victims, Rosie, is said to have written letters to a neighbour. She can read and write, but without seemingly having had any formal education. How did she slip through the net? The Old Bill raided the collective's squat in 1978, so Comrade Bala wasn't exactly unknown to the authorities. Neither were the rest of those involved. Five years ago, Lambeth rehoused them all in a brand new council house. Didn't anyone wonder about the unusual set-up? Probably not. After all, the Prime Minister has said it is our duty to celebrate all kinds of "families," in whatever shape or form. These days the Manson Family would qualify for a council house in Lambeth. Mustn't be "judgmental." Neither of the alleged captors, 73-year-old Comrade Bala and his wife Chanda, are British citizens, even though they came here in the Sixties. Despite being at the centre of "Britain's worst- ever slavery case" they haven't been charged and they've been released on bail. So where are they? Then there's the mystery of the 30-year-old woman found at the house. She has a birth certificate and can read and write, but without seemingly having had any formal education. This wasn't "slavery" in the Django Unchained sense. The women were free to come and go and were often seen by neighbours shopping in Tesco. They appear to be afflicted with some kind of "Stockholm Syndrome," where a victim identifies with and becomes dependent upon their captor - the old Patty Hearst defence. This site in Brixton was once the HQ of the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre - which housed a communist collective run by the slavery case suspects Aravindan Balakrishnan, 73, and his wife Chanda, 67 By all accounts, they secured their escape after spotting a telephone number for an anti-slavery charity on TV. It's not clear why they waited all this time before crying for help. This case still has more questions than answers. But the rush to make political capital out of it is unseemly, to say the least. The politicians, not the public, must shoulder the blame. Many of those who are forced into slavery are from overseas and have entered Britain illegally through our porous borders. Some of them have been brought here in servitude by wealthy Arabs. Others are trapped in closed immigrant communities where the authorities fear to tread. Theresa May wants us to be vigilant, but let's just imagine how that would work in practice. Try asking an immigrant nail technician whether she's in the country legally or has been brought here as a slave. Report your suspicions to the police or the Town Hall and you'd probably be accused of "racism" and charged with a "hate crime." Let me make myself crystal: I abhor slavery as much as anyone and don't deny it is a serious problem and a stain on a so-called civilised society. But, most emphatically, we are not all to blame. First they watered down the fitness requirements for the police, fire brigade and armed forces so that women could enjoy "equality" with their male colleagues. Now three female RAF recruits have been awarded £100,000 each because they still can't keep up with the men. Three female RAF recruits have been awarded £100,000 each because they can't keep up with the men They complained that having to march in step with men had caused pelvic and other injuries. So the Ministry of Defence has agreed to compensate them for nine years of lost earnings, even though they have all gone on to other careers. If this isn't an obscene amount, especially in comparison with the paltry sums given to front-line servicemen who have lost limbs, then I don't know what is. Originally, they received £3,000 each. But, inevitably, the Blame Direct legal vultures got involved and it was trebles all round. If these women have a shred of decency, they will donate every penny to military charities. Couldn't the RAF simply have bought them looser skirts? Miliband - is he off his Ed? Ed Miliband complains that the Tories are using the Co-op scandal to smear Labour The preposterous Ed Miliband complains that the Tories are using the Co-op scandal to smear Labour. This would be the same Ed Miliband who worked alongside Damian McBride in the Gordon Brown defamation and dirty tricks department. And who leads a party containing Nonce Finder General Tom Watson, who hid behind parliamentary privilege to accuse leading Tories of child-molesting. The same Ed Miliband who sat next to Ed Balls in the Commons last week as the Shadow Chancellor demanded to know if the Prime Minister had ever snorted cocaine. What's the matter with Miliband? Is he on ketamine? The TUC wants all employees to be given a month off with pay to help them overcome bereavement. How's that going to pan out? People handle the death of loved ones in different ways. Many prefer to go on working, as it helps the grieving process. And where would you draw the line? Would the loss of, say, a favourite great aunt qualify for bereavement leave? Downton actress Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, has revealed she has received condolence cards from fans over the death of her on-screen husband. Matthew Crawley wasn't a real person, laydees. But, presumably, all these madwomen would be entitled to a month off work, too. The power of Flowers Not everyone comes out of the Co-op scandal worse off. The rent-boy involved with the Rev Flowers boasts that he has been able to put up his charges from £450 to £800 a night as a result of all the publicity. He's now a bit of a celebrity. Call me old-fashioned. Meanwhile, prostitutes in Walsall have complained that a crackdown on kerb-crawling has been bad for their business. How long before they get legal aid to sue West Midlands police for loss of earnings? My old mate Colin Dunne wonders why Ed Miliband didn't choose You Don't Bring Me Flowers as one of his Desert Island Discs.