A private member’s bill to license gangmasters may not become law because it won’t have enough time to clear parliament, a senior minister has suggested.

Jim Sheridan, Labour MP for West Renfrewshire, proposed the bill in January, a few weeks before the Morecambe Bay cockle picker tragedy re-ignited the debate.

Under the terms of the bill, gangmasters, who control gangs of low-paid immigrant workers, would need special licences to operate. But last week agriculture minister Lord Whitty could not confirm whether it would be given sufficient parliamentary time to be passed.

•As Recruiter went to press, police had arrested 40 gangmasters in early morning raids across the country.