Boris Johnson’s great-great-grandmother was a victim of white slavery

• It was discovered by Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel Johnson that her great-great-grandmother was a victim of white slavery during the Circassian genocide.

• The family history was uncovered by the 56-year-old while researching Channel 5’s TV Programme 1000 Years a Slave which revealed that Hanife Feride, their ancestor, was sold to 43-year-old Ahmed Hamdi in Istanbul when she was just 13-year-old.

• Rachel wrote, “I’m sure the crew wanted me to cry, but I didn’t. How could I cry, hen this girl’s life chances, as judged by her father, were far better if she married a rich merchant in Istanbul than if she stayed in a poor village by the Black Sea – and he was right? She gave birth to a future politician, whose great-grandson became a world leader.”