WITHHOLDING a person's identity documents should be a crime punishable by jail, an MP told the Commons.

Calder Valley Labour MP Chris McCafferty called for a change in the law, to close a loophole being exploited by criminals, people traffickers and unscrupulous employers.

Her Control of Identification Documents (Offences) Bill would make it illegal for employers or anyone else to withhold or control ID documents, such as passports, immigration documents or driving licences.

She said such methods were used in people trafficking, forced involvement in the sex industry and in keeping workers in low pay.

"The unauthorised withholding of someone's passport or other identity documents is an important tool for the unscrupulous to control vulnerable people," she told MPs.

People deprived of their documents also had no access to vital services, she argued.

The Bill gained its first reading.

But it stands no chance of becoming law because of a lack of parliamentary time.