Potentially kerb crawlers are serious sex offenders in the making

The police shouldn't waste their time profiling the bleedin' obvious.These are just guys who want to get laid. They see working girls as the most practical short term way of achieving this end.

Thinking of profiles, I wonder if by any chance, this noxious police moralist is a religious nutter? He would certainly fit the profile of those who think they are justified in totally screwing up peoples lives over minor issues of a morality based on nonsense.

Based on an article from the Evening Star see full article

Suffolk police today said it was considering building up a detailed profile of the men caught soliciting prostitutes in the red-light district as a way of helping it to catch future offenders.

And the force is looking at making it a requirement for offenders to answer questions about their motives.

The move would represent an extension of the force's crackdown on the men who create a demand for the street sex industry following its early success.

After the force made 100 arrests in the first six months of the new vice crackdown, Chief inspector Bruce Robinson, Ipswich district commander, said there was currently little detailed information about the psychology behind kerb crawling.

When offenders are caught kerb crawling or soliciting a prostitute they are handed a caution and made to sign what is known as an Acceptable Behaviour Contract, which requires them to cease using street prostitutes.

The new measures could see a clause added into those contracts requiring the men to answer questions about their offending, thereby helping police to build up a more detailed picture of the type of men who seek the services of street sex workers.

Robinson said: Potentially they are serious sex offenders in the making. They may say 'well it's just something we do every now and then' but actually we may be building a profile on them as a potential suspect.

Robinson said he was surprised kerb crawlers continued to go out in search of prostitutes in Ipswich despite warnings of the police's zero tolerance stance. However he added that it was thought fewer men were now patrolling the red-light district.

 
Nutters predictably object to village strip pub

Based on an article from the Daily Mail see full article

To the dismay of nutters in a Kent village, a struggling pub landlord is employing strippers four nights a week to pull in custom.

Two large blackboards have appeared outside The Harp Inn in East Peckham proclaiming to passers-by: Erotic dancers. Weds, Thurs, Fri and Sat. From 5pm.

But while owner Lee Swainsbury hopes the shows will turn around the fortunes of his pub, nutters are predictably up in arms, claiming it will ruin the reputation of the village.

Reverend Nutter, Anthony Carr, vicar of Holy Trinity Church, has written to the parish council demanding a ban on the shows: This is not the sort of place for this type of activity. The villagers work hard to maintain the right sort of image for this village and we don't want it spoiled by allowing undesirables into our community. I realise there are pubs in towns and cities who offer this sort of entertainment but it is totally out of place in a quiet country village.

The guardians of morality in East Peckham though appear to have missed their chance to halt the enterprise, as the licence Swainsbury was granted when he bought the pub's 30-year lease in 2005 makes provision for 'adult entertainment'.

Swainsbury said: We tried everything we could think of to bring people through the doors but none of the local residents supported the pub. I had no option but to think of something else. We still run at a loss but my trade has increased so there is a market for it. I don't want to upset the community but we're a couple with a family and we've got to survive.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's chief solicitor Duncan Robinson said of the licence application: The only objections were about parking. Nothing was mentioned with regard to the dancing so we had no alternative but to grant the licence. It would be near impossible for residents to reverse the decision now.

 
Nutters happy as lap dancing dropped at Oxford bar

I don't know about Oxford but the £10 entrance, £20 per 3 minute dance and expensive drinks at my local club surely keep the crowds away.

Based on an article from the Oxford Mail see full article

Nearly five years of lap-dancing at an East Oxford bar are coming to an end.

Bar Baby, in Cowley Road, is undergoing major refurbishment - and when it reopens on October 21, its regular Sunday lap-dancing nights will no longer be part of the programme.

Martin Forde, who runs the bar which is to be renamed Baby Simple, denied the raunchy entertainment was being cancelled due to lack of interest and said it had simply run its course. He said: "I totally enjoy it but I just think it's time to move on.

Bar Baby was the only establishment in the city to offer adult entertainment of that nature.
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When its licence was first granted in November 2002, more than 500 people signed a petition and 75 residents wrote in opposition to the plans.

Among those who objected was Margaret Coombs, She told the Oxford Mail: That's excellent news. I'm very glad it's stopping because I think it's very degrading to women. She admitted concerns over rowdy behaviour from customers and large numbers of cars parking nearby had not been realised. She said: I can't say that I personally noticed any annoyance in the neighbourhood but we didn't go past there on Sundays. Certainly none of the fears that were expressed that there would be a lot of people pouring out at night appeared to come to fruition, but I'm delighted that it won't be happening any more.

Update: In Decline?

2nd October 2007

Plans to transform an Edinburgh  West End lap dancing bar into a block of upmarket flats have been approved by the council.

Businessman Tommy Diresta is believed to have drawn up the proposals to turn The Fantasy Palace in Shandwick Place into 11 apartments, after being made a number of "substantial" offers for the site.

 
Implying that all foreign sex workers are trafficked

Based on an article from the Times see full article

Emma Thompson will be in Trafalgar Square in London every day next week urging people to visit their local massage parlour to find out for themselves about the sex industry.

The Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter has spent most of the past year working on an art show about sex slavery, which takes over the north terrace of the square for eight days until the end of September. (from noon until 8pm)

She is convinced that police will be able pierce the culture of fear and silence around sex-trafficking gangs only if the public gets involved in bringing out the truth: Get involved and keep your eyes open. Wander into massage parlours and see if any of the girls speak English. If you live in a quiet suburban street, what’s going on with the house on the corner where the curtains are drawn and there are always men wandering in and out?

The show, Journey, dramatises the brutal experience of trafficked women through displays mounted in seven purpose-built transport containers.

Thompson used her profile to secure an interview with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London. He agreed to mount the show in Trafalgar Square.

The show is in support of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a charity that rehabilitates people who have suffered gross human rights violations.

Anish Kapoor, the Turner Prize-winning artist, and Sandy Powell, the Oscar-winning costume designer, are among the creative talents who have worked on it.

Do you want this going on in your city? If you don’t what are you going to do about it? Thompson said. You can’t rely on the Government because they are starved of information.

Gordon Brown's ministerial team. Left to right: Women's Issues, Patriotism & Jingoism, Religious Observance, Fun & Recreation, Men's Issues

 
More nasty ideas to get more people in prison

Based on an article from the Guardian see full article

Ministers are considering proposals to prosecute men for buying sex, the Guardian has learned.

Senior members of the government are discussing whether to criminalise the purchase, rather than sale, of sex - as Sweden did eight years ago.

One minister acknowledged the move would be quite a dramatic step, but added: There's no doubt whatsoever it's being talked about. There is increasing awareness among senior ministers, particularly women, that demand for prostitution is an area which needs to be tackled seriously and hasn't been.

A number of senior women in government - including Jacqui Smith, the home secretary; Patricia Scotland, the attorney general; Vera Baird, solicitor general; and Harriet Harman, leader of the house - are thought to be sympathetic to the calls.

Other proposals being considered include large-scale programmes to name and shame men caught kerbcrawling, which is already illegal. But campaigners believe that only by criminalising clients can they help women working in brothels as well as on the streets and send out a signal that paying for sex is not acceptable.

Fiona Mactaggart MP, who as a home office minister was in charge of tackling prostitution until last year, said: The criminal justice bill that comes back on the first day [after the parliamentary recess] includes changes to the prostitution strategy. It would be possible to put into it some amendment which deals with this issue of men who pay for sex, she said.

A Home Office spokeswoman said it had no current plans to criminalise paying for sex. But the Guardian understands that the proposal is being discussed informally with a view to longer-term action.

The government has won praise from unexpected sources for other socially conservative measures recently, ranging from scrapping plans for a supercasino to launching a review of media violence and its impact on children and young people.

Sweden criminalised buying sex but decriminalised selling it eight years ago. Supporters of the scheme say it has slashed the number of brothels and clients and cut the level of sex trafficking into the country to hundreds of women. But some critics have suggested that women who remain in the sex industry have become more vulnerable as a result of the reforms.

Gordon Brown's ministerial team. Left to right: Women's Issues, Patriotism & Jingoism, Religious Observance, Fun & Recreation, Men's Issues

 
Reminding the Government of what Wolfenden said

From Alan

This month, the government engages in a spasm of self-congratulation on the fiftieth anniversary of the Wolfenden report.

Next month, it proposes:

• throwing tarts in the slammer if they don't attend naughty behaviour correction courses
• throwing mildly kinky people in the slammer if it doesn't like their choice of videos
• and now, it seems, throwing blokes in the slammer if they engage the services of a prostitute.

Maybe, instead of celebrating the Wolfenden report, MPs should read it:

"there must remain a realm of private morality and immorality which is, in brief and crude terms, not the law's business. To say this is not to condone or encourage private immorality."

"the function of the criminal law... is to preserve public order and decency, to protect the citizen from what is offensive or injurious, and to provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation and corruption of others, particularly those who are specially vulnerable because they are young, weak in body or mind, inexperienced, or in a state of special physical, official or economic dependence".

"It is not, in our view, the function of the law to intervene in the private lives of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular pattern of behaviour, further than is necessary to carry out the purposes of we have outlined."

Gordon Brown's ministerial team. Left to right: Women's Issues, Patriotism & Jingoism, Religious Observance, Fun & Recreation, Men's Issues

 
The repressive thinking behind targeting men paying for sex

Thanks to Donald

This radical left wing feminists in Sweden have for a long time aggressively and untruthfully marketed their law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services with the hope that politicians in other countries will also see the light.

Here are some articles from Sweden written by social workers etc... (It should also be noted that the radical feminists see pornography as camouflaged prostitution)

• Lies about sexwork in Sweden
   
• Sexworkers Critique of Swedish Prostitution Policy
   
• An assessment of Gunilla Ekberg’s account of Swedish prostitution policy (pdf) by: Vincent Clausen.
  
  Gunilla Ekberg's account of Swedish prostitution policy is frequently referred to in debates worldwide, and it is thus forming part of the basis of knowledge upon which strategies and approaches are discussed and constructed. Ekberg frequently draws conclusions that are directly contradicting or otherwise in conflict with the evidence in the sources used. Ekberg’'s article should be seen as a political manifesto, rather than an attempt at accounting for the effects of the prohibition of the purchase of sexual services
  
  The international anti-prostitution lobby consists of the unholy alliance of the Christian American right and radical left wing feminists from Sweden.
   
• U.S., Sweden Team Up to Fight Sex Trafficking of Women, Girls
   
• The Link Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking

This article from the Economist is 3 years old (4th Sep 2004) , but we see the result now.

Radical Swedish feminists demand that street signs are placed in prostitution areas of Gothenburg to show that it is illegal to buy sexual services And yes that is a serious proposal, just look at their faces (The sign of the right says "report trafficking")

Importing policies:
How Swedish policies influence Britain

Once Scandinavians came with swords; now they come with social policies.

If policies were commodities, Sweden would have a large surplus on its trade balance. This small nation of 9m people has already exported to Britain active labour market policies, a model for universal childcare, and a merged prison and probation service. A ban on smacking children, pioneered by the Swedes in 1979 and successfully sold to 11 other European countries, was, after a struggle, voted down by the House of Lords in July. None of these policies, though, is being marketed so aggressively as Sweden's policy of outlawing the purchase of sex.

That Sweden should have developed Europe's toughest prostitution policies is odd, because the country used to be known for its liberal attitude to abortion, co-habitation and sex education. The law was changed in 1999, after ministers became convinced that the sex trade was upsetting the balance of power between the sexes. As Lise Bergh, state secretary for gender equality, explains: "We have come to see men's purchasing of women as a form of violence. It has nothing to do with sexuality."

There were never many prostitutes in Sweden, thanks mostly to a generous welfare state. Anders Gripenlof, who works with the prostitution group of the Stockholm police, believes that, before 1999, about 250 women regularly sold sex. The new laws criminalise not them but their clients, 754 of whom had been fined by the end of June 2004. The laws seem to have worked as a deterrent. Mr Gripenlof believes there are now 50-100 prostitutes in Stockholm.

Such successes as there have been delight the Swedes, four-fifths of whom support the change in the law. Not content with having won over domestic consumers, the Swedish government is now self-consciously engaged in a battle for Europe, with the libertarian Dutch on the other side. It even has a roadshow, which begins with a showing of the film "Lilya 4-Ever", about a trafficked Russian teenager, and proceeds with speeches from ministers, police inspectors and reformed prostitutes. Peculiarly, for a nation with such firm socialist traditions, the government has also teamed up with the White House to fund anti-prostitution campaigns in Europe. Britain's Home Office is highly impressed by Sweden's focus on the punter, and sees criminalisation as "definitely an option", according to an insider.

Why are the Swedes so determined to spread the word? Partly it's pragmatism: the sex trade is global, and will disappear only if demand can be curtailed everywhere. Mostly, though, it is pure conviction. Sweden has long been conscious of its distinctive mission in Europe and proud of its marriage of capitalist freedom and socialist equality. Henrik Tham, a criminologist at the University of Stockholm, notes that Sweden touted its economic policies until the domestic economy ran into difficulties in the 1980s. Since then, it has marketed relatively cheap moral reforms.

Sweden's exports are not all successful. Outlawing drug taking, another modern initiative, has fallen flat. Yet the record is mostly good. At the moment, Swedes are discussing women's quotas for the top levels of corporate management and trying to do something about what ministers call the "pornogrification" of everyday life--sexy advertisements, thongs being marketed to teenagers, and so on. Such initiatives may seem off-the-wall now, but if they are floated in Britain in a few years' time, don't be surprised.

So just wait and see and soon page 3 will also be banned...

And last but not least, a somewhat dated article:

• Nobody screws more prostitutes than the government

Gordon Brown's ministerial team. Left to right: Women's Issues, Patriotism & Jingoism, Religious Observance, Fun & Recreation, Men's Issues

 
Claiming 10,000 trafficked women, yet police can only locate 70 of them

Thanks to Donald

29th September 2007

A couple of links about trafficking figures:

• www.slate.com/id/2174606
• www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/sep/21/566640259.html?prostitution there are more relevant articles on this site
• www.salli.org/muistio/self.html

Operation Pentameter 2 will launch next month, before they launched part one we could read in the media: More than 10,000 women from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Far East have been sold to gangs at auction for an average of £2,500 and forced into sex slavery in British brothels

This is the result:

www.pentameter.police.uk

During the three-month operational phase, more than 70 potential victims of human trafficking were rescued following law enforcement activity around the country.

70 vs 10.000? so either are the figures vastly exaggerated or the police are incompetent

 
Churches etc should be banned within 500m of a pub

Decent folk enjoying their socialising should not have to put up with breeding grounds of intolerance. Children surely deserve protection from these nutters who prey on young minds and fill their heads with mean minded nonsense.

Based on an article from Dorset Echo see full article

Lap dancing clubs could be banned from opening near churches, schools or tourist areas enjoyed by families.

The no-go zones are set to be created under a review of Bournemouth's licensing policies.

Earlier this year, seafront nightclub Jumpin Jaks applied to remove licensing clauses which banned striptease or indecent performances. It has since withdrawn the application.

Cllr Stephen Chappell, chairman of Bournemouth Borough Council's licensing board, said the Jumpin Jaks location - in the Waterfront building - would not be suitable. He said: Where we've got a public concourse with family holiday makers, with children as well, it's not the right place to have that sort of adult entertainment. The Pier Approach would not be considered an appropriate area and neither would premises in the vicinity of schools, churches and other sensitive venues like that."

Cllr John Trickett, who has previously campaigned against licences for sex shops and adult entertainment premises, said: I feel that Bournemouth should concentrate its marketing on family-orientated pursuits. Anything that detracts from that is a retrograde step so I would fully support Cllr Chappell. Such a move can only improve Bournemouth.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said churches should not be given special protection from the policy: If these places are going to go somewhere, somebody's going to be inconvenienced and offended by them and there's no reason why the church should get special protection from them.

Beware, clip joint! The Soho Cabaret Great Windmill Street

 
Potential victims will be warned about Soho rip off bars

From the Daily Mail see full article

Text messages and emails warning passers-by they are entering an area where clip joints masquerading as sex bars operate are to be sent out under a pioneering new scheme.

Westminster City Council will use Bluetooth technology to send a message about the dangers of Soho's notorious clubs to the owners of mobile phones or BlackBerrys who wander within a 30-metre radius of three venues.

Beware, clip joint! Twilights Rupert Street

The warning reads: £5 to get in, £500 to get out. Criminals operate some of the hostess bars in Soho. Don't enter without knowing what you'll get for your money.

Clip joints are a well established Soho scam and Westminster has been campaigning for years to drive them out of the West End.

Customers are lured inside with false promises of "adult entertainment" - only to find a shabby room, no bar and no entertainment.

Beware, clip joint! Illusions Great Windmill Street

They are presented with huge bills for entry and soft drinks and menaced into paying. Those who refuse risk being frog-marched to cash machines.

Westminster's initiative will see the message issued between 500 and 1,000 times per day, targeting the last three remaining clip joints in the area - Twilights in Rupert Street and Illusions and The Soho Cabaret in Great Windmill Street.

A Westminster spokesman said: "It's hard to close them down. They are unregulated and do not need a licence because they do not sell alcohol or provide any entertainment: It's difficult to gather evidence against them because anyone who does come a cropper is too ashamed to go to the police or council. In the past we have managed to close them down using property laws and health and safety laws. For example, we can shut them down if they don't have proper fire exits. The remaining ones will go eventually but in the meantime we need to warn people about them.

People will be asked if they want to read the message from the council before it is displayed in full. The technology allows it to be sent out only once to each device. Leaflets warning people about the bars are also regularly distributed in the area by the council.

   
Lap dancing doesn't sell in Morecombe

Based on an article from The Visitor see full article

Morecombe's only lap dancing bar has been forced to close after failing to pull in the punters.

The Office on the promenade's lease is up for sale less than 18 months after the club first opened with an upstairs bar where naked women danced for paying customers.

Alan Crookall, leaseholder of The Office, decided to cut his losses after custom dwindled away: It was a gamble that didn't work. The girls made money but there weren't enough customers coming through the doors to pay the bills.

The bar proved popular at first. But the business began to struggle, even when admission charges were reduced to nothing: We had some regular customers who enjoyed coming in but not enough.

   
Breeding like rabbits

From www.LoveHoney.co.uk

New recycling regulations mean that all electrical equipment - including sex toys! - must be disposed of at a designated electrical waste collection centre. This means that you shouldn’t just chuck your dead vibrator in the kitchen bin!

More than 1,000 electrical waste centres have been set up at recycling sites around the UK. But who wants the hassle and embarrassment of taking your dog-eared defunct sex toy down to the tip? Nobody! That's where the LoveHoney Rabbit Amnesty can help.

Send your old rabbit vibrator to LoveHoney Rabbit Amnesty and we will:

• Carefully dispose of your old vibrator
• Donate £1 to a green charity
• Ensure as much of it is recycled as possible
• Send you a new rabbit vibrator for half price!

   
Major UK adult film distributor goes into liquidation

From Erotic Trade Only

The tough trading conditions in the adult DVD market have claimed their first high profile casualty, Hot Rod Productions, which went into voluntary liquidation in July.

Hot Rod's Chris Ratcliff said: There are so many products in the market and the shops are not selling in volume. When we saw a decline in sales in Soho, we knew the writing was on the wall.

The difficulties of British censorship and restrictions on distribution were also cited as contributing factors.

The catalogue of all 220 Hot Rod titles has now been sold to Load Enterprises.

   
Wants to make Blackpool a children's resort again

Based on an article from This Is Lancashire see full article

Blackpool's council leader, Peter Callow has "put the wheels in motion" to limit lap dancing establishments in the town, in the same way sex shops are controlled.

Only last month councillors voted to limit sex shops to two, but they have become increasingly concerned at the number of lap dancing bars in the town centre.

Coun Callow said: There seems to have been a proliferation of lap dancing clubs. I think there are 13 now in Blackpool and it's something we're determined to look at. When we came to power our brief was to clean up the town's image and promote it as a family resort again. I'm not trying to be a killjoy and scrap these bars all together, ...BUT... we have three or four times the number our coastal rivals have and families shouldn't be subjected to such sights.

The council will assure current lap dancing bar operators that it will not be taking licences away from premises, and will allow legitimate businesses to continue trading. But the proposals would see no more licences handed out for new lap dancing bars and, over time, a reduction in the number if licences were not renewed.

Coun Ivan Taylor, the leader of the Labour group in town, backed Coun Callow's proposal, saying: Anything that helps control things like this is obviously worth looking at, we need to get a balance somewhere between fun and sensibility. I'm not sure whether it is possible though, the sex shops may be covered by different legislation, so it's something that will need looking at.

Update: Killjoys to Legislate

7th October 2007

Coun Peter Callow, leader of the council, said: It came to my attention soon after I became leader there were no licensing laws which could limit the number of these adult establishments. We had powers with regards to sex shops but not lap dancing establishments.

Attempts had been made in the past to give licensing authorities control over adult entertainment but this failed.

So the council has now set about creating groundbreaking legislation on the basis that tourism is being harmed by either the density or quantity of adult entertainment in the town centre and promenade.

We believe we are the first council to take this stance which is testimony to our determination to clean up the town. [Actually Brighton started along this path recently and Glasgow have been banging about this idea for ages]

Update: More Lap Dancing Approved

4th December 2007

An application for a lap dancing bar, situated at the junction of Talbot Square and Market Street, was granted planning permission. Opposition opinions were dismissed when they were judged to be irrelevant to planning issues.

The club was granted planning permission despite a statement by council leader, Coun Peter Callow earlier this year that no more lap-dancing bars would be allowed to open in the resort.

   
So as to prevent embarrassment over job adverts

Based on an article from the BBC see full article

A government website aimed at helping people find work has been condemned for advertising escort jobs.

Jobcentre Plus is part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its website offers several personal escort positions around the country.

A DWP spokeswoman said a court ruling meant it could not refuse the adverts.

But Frances Broderick, from women's group Eaves, told Channel 4 news that the adverts were clearly helping women into prostitution. I'm shocked that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are even advertising this as an opportunity. It's clearly not a suitable career choice for the DWP to be promoting.

Nutter MP Fiona MacTaggart, a former junior Home Office minister, told the programme: At the moment, it's quite legal to buy or sell sexual services and I think maybe the time has come to tackle that, to actually change the law... to make it illegal to buy sex.

But the adverts cannot be banned by the website following a court ruling four years ago in a case brought by the sex toy and lingerie chain Ann Summers.

A DWP spokesman said: The High Court over-turned Jobcentre Plus's policy which did not accept certain types of adverts connected with the sex and personal service industries. He added there were safeguards in place to ensure customers were fully aware of the nature of the jobs and no benefit sanctions would occur if they did not apply for such vacancies.

   
Sex workers may be jailed under new law

From the Observer see full article

The government was last night accused of turning the clock back 25 years by introducing a law that will allow courts to imprison prostitutes who are arrested for soliciting. The move has provoked the fury of women's support groups, who say the move will do nothing to address the root causes of the illicit trade in sex.

The landmark 1982 Criminal Justice Act removed the power of courts to jail prostitutes for soliciting, replacing the threat of custodial sentences with fines. But the new Criminal Justice and Immigration bill, which will be debated in parliament in October, gives magistrates powers to detain soliciting prostitutes in prison for up to three days on remand if they fail to attend mandatory counselling sessions and ignore court orders.

It's a new way to lock women up for consenting to sex; it's just appalling, said Nina Lopez, spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes. You can't force women into rehabilitation.

Under the law, prostitutes caught soliciting can be ordered to attend three meetings with a court-appointed expert to discuss 'ending their involvement' with prostitution. Magistrates will be able to summon those who fail to attend the sessions before a court. Those who do not obey the summons can be arrested and imprisoned for up to 72 hours.

Given the chaotic nature of most prostitutes' lives, experts said it was likely that many will not attend meetings and end up in prison as a result.

This is yet another example of the state's wish to exert moral disapproval of prostitution while recognising that it will not go away, said Harry Fletcher, assistant general-secretary of the probation officers' union, Napo: The threat of custody is extremely punitive.

   
Newcastle lap dancing gets the go ahead

From Morning Advertiser see full article

A Newcastle lap dancing venue will be called Officer’s Deck and will be sited above Utopian’s Navy Club, the new name for @Home bar.

The lap-dance club is expected to open in a month’s time and will be the fourth in the city - the other three are owned by Ladhar Group.

The lap-dance club was given the go-ahead despite a 2,000 signature of opposition, signed by the Bishop of Newcastle.

Officer’s Deck will not open until 7.30pm on a Sunday evening, half an hour after the end of evensong at nearby St Nicholas Church.

Clergy from St Nicholas Church said: The licensing sub-committee took careful account of all the evidence presented, but  decided that our objections could not be sustained under the Council’s Licensing Rules.

The Cathedral community still feels considerable concern about the effects this establishment will have on the safety and well-being of the many children who visit our cathedral – more than 18,000 in the last twelve months. Time will tell whether this concern is well-founded.

   
There would be no prostitution problem

From The Sun see full article
ITV Wednesday 15th August at 9pm

Ann Widdecombe will tackle the sex trade when she steps onto the frontline for her new TV show on ITV1.

The Tory MP made an impression on TV bosses with her appearance on Sir Trevor McDonald’s Tonight show, where she looked at the problem of anti-social behaviour, patrolling a London estate blighted by crime.

So much so, that she has been given a three-part series in which she tackles some of the country’s key issues.

In the first programme, Ann Widdecombe Versus the Sex Trade, she confronts prostitutes, pimps and clients as she sets her sights on the world of vice.

Ann investigates how effective the law is in dealing with the problem and whether legalisation is a viable solution for the sex industry.

Ann said: Prostitution disgusts me. I can’t for the life of me understand why any woman would resort to selling sex and why any man would resort to buying it.

   
Review of Ann Widdecombe Versus the Sex Trade

Review from The Telegraph
ITV Wednesday 15th August at 9pm

In this first of a short series in which the Conservative backbencher tackles our most pressing social ills, Widdecombe set off to confront working girls in areas of Peterborough, Southampton and Manchester.

The result was hardly what you’d call thrusting journalism. Widdecombe approached her targets as if they were creatures from another planet, and took offence when they gave her and the camera crew short shrift. When one girl asked for money in return for an interview, Widdecombe sniffily wondered what else she might want paying for.

Widdecombe’s biggest problem, though, was that she had no solutions to offer. She expressed concern for the safety of street prostitutes, yet wouldn’t have any truck with the legalisation of brothels. She spoke sympathetically about the degradation of drug addiction – yet seemed to think slaves to heroin and crack could simply wake up and throw off their dependency along with their sheets.

Even her attempt to reform the one girl she managed to gain the confidence of was bizarre – bringing in the mother of a murdered prostitute to administer a short sharp shock, then abandoning the young woman to her fate. Widdecombe seemed genuinely surprised to find the girl back on the streets a week or so later. How pointless was that?

   
Councillors spout bollox about lap dancing in Brighton

For background, Pool Valley coach station is the back end of an old cinema. It is, and has always been, an eyesore. If Brighton Council care so much about first impressions they would have redeveloped it years ago.

Based on an article from the The Argus see full article

Another lap-dancing club looks likely to open in central Brighton. Spearmint Rhino is already slated to open in East Street as Rocco Mana in the autumn.

For Your Eyes Only has applied to transform the Kooklub in Pool Valley into a new venue called FYEO which would open until 4am.

The coach station in Pool Valley is part of a £350,000 redevelopment to spruce up the area. Nutter oncerns have been raised that a strip club could be tourists' first glimpse of Brighton's historic centre.

The news comes as Brighton and Hove City Council pressed ahead with plans to create legislation to stop the proliferation of strip clubs.

Plans for The Rocco Mana in East Street - were approved by magistrates last year, overturning the council's initial rejection. Magistrates ruled that police could not establish the link between strip clubs and disorder and threw out the council's decision not to grant the Spearmint Rhino-linked venue a licence.

Councillors now want to close the loophole with a Private Member's Bill which would allow organisations outside Parliament such as councils to gain powers not available under general law. Labour councillors had raised fears that a report to the policy and resources committee would lead to the Bill not being introduced into Parliament until November 2008, but at the meeting on Thursday all parties backed an amendment to aim for later this year.

Vanessa Brown, deputy chairman of the policy and resources committee, said a strip club next to the coach station would be bad for the city. She said: We are seeking new powers that will allow us much greater scope to prevent pole and lap-dancing clubs being sited in inappropriate locations, in the same way that we can control the licensing of sex shops and adult cinemas. Whether we get these powers locally, or whether we lobby for a national change in law, it's time that Brighton and Hove had the power to say no to more sex establishments in the city.

Councillor Jeane Lepper, (Wife of the dangerous pictures, campaigner David) who began work on the Bill before the election, said: We need to make sure that we do not have a concentration of these venues in an area because we do not want a red-light district.

[Of course giving councillors powers as requested will surely lead to corruption as it so tempting to use such powers to impose personal morality on others].

   
Objections to lap dancing in Durham

Based on an article from Northern Echo see full article

A bid to open Durham City's first table dancing club has attracted 44 nutter objections, including one from the police.

Vimac leisure, with chief executive Paul Mackings is seeking a licence for The Loft, one of two venues it operates in North Road.

The South Tyneside-based company says in its application to Durham City Council's licensing department that it will be a "high class table dancing club'', which will include pole dancing and lap dancing for the over-18s.

The deadline for comments and objections passed on Thursday and the application will be heard by the council's licensing committee on Wednesday, August 8.

The premises would be open from 11am until the early hours and Sergeant Tim Robson, licensing officer for North Durham, said there was concern that hen and stag parties could visit the club during the day.

He added that there was concern about the numbers of people dispersing at closing in North Road, which is a main thoroughfare and home to other bars, the city's bus station and taxi ranks.

   
Objections overruled in Durham

Based on an article from Sunderland Echo see full article

The Loft lap dancing club will open in Durham City within weeks despite more than 50 objections.

Durham City Council's licensing committee approved the application from Vimac Leisure for its Loft premises in North Road after a marathon five-hour meeting.

Committee chairwoman Coun Maureen Smith refused to disclose the committee's split, but it is understood the proposal was passed on her casting vote.

Boldon-based Vimac had wanted to open for lap dancing seven days a week, but will only be allowed to offer performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The premises can serve alcoholic drink until 2am from Monday to Saturday, but must close at 30 minutes after midnight on Sunday.

Durham Police, who objected to the proposal on the grounds it could increase the fear of crime among young women, said it was disappointed with the result, but would now work with Vimac to insure the club was run in an orderly manner.

Update: MP told to read own laws

16th August 2007

An MP accused councillors who voted in favour of a controversial lap-dancing club of letting local people down yesterday.

But Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods was told by one prominent politician to: go back and read up on her own government’s licensing laws.

Carol Woods, deputy council leader, continued: The committee had no legal grounds to reject the application. Had it done so, the applicants would have appealed and we would have lost the appeal.

Update: Appealing to Magistrates

21st September 2007

Nutters have set up a public meeting to challenge Durham County Council's decision to grant permission for a lap dancing club in Durham's city centre.

The meeting to contest the license, given to Vimac Leisure's The Loft will be held at St Nicholas' Church, Durham Market Place, at 7.30 on September 19.

Nutters said the location was inappropriate because it is too close to homes, the hospital and churches and Durham Cathedral.

In turn, Vimac has objected to the conditions imposed on the club by the licensing panel which limits the entertainment to Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and bans the company from advertising.

Magistrates will hear both appeals at a preliminary hearing on Monday, September 24.

Update: Appeal On

1st October 2007

Durham Magistrates' Court agreed details for their case to be heard by an appeals panel, which will start in December and is expected to last three days.

   
ETO Industry award winners

From Strictly News

Last week the Erotic Trade Only (ETO) Industry Awards. Unlike most adult awards these were voted for by people in the industry, and a full list of winner follows below.

• Best Magazine: Desire
• Best British R18 DVD: Wendy Vs Donna
• Best Overseas R18 DVD : Porn Wars Episode One
• Best 18 DVD : Last Girl Standing
• Best Gay DVD: My Mate Bummed Me And I Loved It
• Best Adult Product: The Cone
• Best Gay Product: Liquid Gold
• Best Consumable: ID Glide
• Best British Film Brand: Harmony
• Best Overseas Films Brand: Private
• Best Sex Toy Brand: Toy Joy
• Best Erotic Clothing Brand: Dreamgirl
• Best Trade Marketing: ID Lubricant
• Best Magazine Distributor: JD Distribution
• Best R18 Film Distributor: Interfact
• Best Erotic Goods Distributor: ABS Holdings
• Best Lingerie Distributor: Bella International
• Best Online Retailer: Sextoys.co.uk
• Best Retailer: Nice n' Naughty
• Best British Performer: Cathy Barry
• Best Overeas Performer: Jenna Jameson
• Services To The Industry: David Sullivan

The Melon Farmers congratulate their sponsors ABS Holdings (Simply Pleasure), Sextoys.co.uk and Nice n' Naughty

   
Nutter councillors leave LibDems in protest at stripping colleague

Based on an article from The Telegraph see full article

Myrna Bushell who won a seat on Bideford council in Devon for the Liberal Democrats, has certainly ensured that she has a life outside politics.

She advertises herself as a Jessica - Kissogram, Stripogram & Stripper Entertainer on a website. She appears on websites offering an £85 kissogram, among other services, and boasting that her "costume specialities" include bride, French maid, sexy biker, headmistress and witch. One website adds: "Jessica is especially suited for stag days … office leavings, surprises."

While such activities may broaden the party's appeal to some voters, they have failed to impress three of her nutter council colleagues.

Tony Inch, his brother Simon and deputy mayor Caroline Church have quit the Lib Dems in protest and will now sit on the council as independents.

Bushell has defended running a £1.50-per-minute sex line from her home: The reason I do them is to pay my bills and be able to spend quality time with my family. It's not incompatible with being an elected councillor and it's not illegal.

Church said the resignations were not about personal issues. In a joint statement, the three said: We believe that our integrity and principles will be compromised if we stay.

George McLauchlan, the council clerk, said Bushell had not breached the councillors' code of conduct because her business activities do not impinge on her duties as a councillor.

   
ETO Best Online Adult Retailer

Congratulations to sextoys.co.uk, supporters of The Melon Farmers

From sextoys.co.uk

sextoys.co.uk has been awarded the title of Best Online Adult Retailer of the Year for the third year running.

The award was presented by ETO, the UK Adult trade magazine and was voted for by its readers, making it the most democratic awards in the adult industry.

sextoys.co.uk beat the likes of annsummers.com and lovehoney.co.uk to win the prestigious award and is completely thrilled to be recognised as the best in its field for an astounding three years in a row.

To win this award three years in a row is amazing, says Dean Farebrother, MD of sextoys.co.uk. We are constantly working hard to give our customers the ultimate shopping experience available and it’s fantastic to be recognised by our peers and rewarded for our efforts.

sextoys.co.uk was formed four years ago with the idea of giving consumers a ‘one stop’ place to shop for adult products.

Today, sextoys.co.uk houses over 2,500 products, has distribution deals with the biggest manufacturers in the world, has unbeatable service levels and a huge and loyal customer base.

   
Reporting profits at Stringfellow's

From This Is Money see full article

Business keeps ticking over nicely at Peter Stringfellow's Covent Garden club.

The latest report and accounts show that profits at Stringfellow Restaurants, the private firm that owns the club, rose by more than £200,000 to £2.9m in the year to June 2006.

That's a decent return considering turnover was a mere £5.2m - proof that food, drink and lapdancing are high margin businesses.

Stringfellow recently opened another club in Wardour Street.

   
Harriet Harman to target fathers, brothers and husbands

Harman is deliberately misinforming by generalising that all foreign sex workers are trafficked

Based on an article from The Guardian see full article

The government will ensure that the fathers, brothers and husbands who have sex with trafficked girls are prosecuted, Harriet Harman vowed.

The women's minister and leader of the Commons said tackling violence against women and improving the way female criminals are treated would be among her priorities, and she singled out the "modern-day slave trade".

Reading out adverts from a local paper which promised new Polish girls ... Romanian ladies ... beautiful girls daily, all nationals, Harman warned: Britain is a major focus for the global trade of sexual exploitation of women by traffickers who trick or abduct young women and force them into prostitution. We need a consensus on how we should be dealing with the demand side - the fathers, brothers and husbands reading these words and fuelling ... global exploitation.

According to the government, 85% of women in brothels now come from outside the UK, while 10 years ago, 85% were British. But although about 30 men have been prosecuted for trafficking women into Britain to work as prostitutes, no men have yet been prosecuted for paying for sex with women or girls forced into the sex trade.

   
Scantily clad dancers smoking in the street

From This Is Aberdeen see full article

A Bid to open a lapdancing club in Aberdeen has been rejected by councillors.

Businesses and groups opposing the Bridge Street club claimed it could lead to an increase in prostitution and to scantily-clad dancers smoking in the street. Nearby businesses - including existing lap-dancing club Angels - and private individuals objected. Police also opposed the club, fearing the "over-provision of premises with entertainment licences" in the area could lead to higher crime rates.

Aberdeen City Council's licensing board rejected the application from Private Dancer Ltd for an entertainment licence for 30 Bridge Street.

The company's Tony Cochrane said he would seek legal advice.

Update: 2nd Time Lucky

19th October

Entrepreneur Tony Cochrane got the go-ahead from city councillors for the venture at 30 Bridge Street at the second attempt.

This time councillor Willie Young proposed the club should be approved, and was backed by councillors George Penny, Richard Robertson and Jim Hunter.

Cochrane said: The area might be a problem but my clubs are well-run. I'm delighted to finally get the go-ahead and hope to open in November.

   
For UK sex workers

The Government are still 'consulting' abut mini brothels though

Based on an article from The Guardian see full article

After nearly 200 years the stigmatising legal term "common prostitute" which dates back to the 1824 Vagrancy Act is to be removed from the statute book, under a package of criminal justice reforms unveiled yesterday.

The shake-up in the sex offences laws will also see women who are persistently involved in prostitution facing compulsory drug and alcohol rehabilitation courses on pain of 72 hours' detention if they fail to attend.

The compulsory rehab courses will apply to those who are convicted of loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution and will be imposed instead of a fine. Offenders will have to attend at least three meetings of the rehab course or face arrest and detention of up to 72 hours and being brought before a court.

It will no longer be an offence to loiter, or solicit, for the purposes of prostitution unless a person does so persistently. Persistent is defined as loitering on “two or more occasions in any three-month period”. Even those convicted of persistent loitering will no longer face a fine or other penalty, but could be forced to meet a supervisor in an effort to rehabilitate them.

A spokesman for the Injustice Ministry said last night: The law is not being relaxed. It is defining what the term persistent means. In most cases people are not currently prosecuted until they have received at least two cautions.

The decision to remove the term "common prostitute" from the statute book follows a consultation which showed the term was widely regarded as stigmatising and offensive.

   
Blair voted least wanted desert island companion

From Love Honey See full results

As Tony Blair prepares to depart from Number 10 tomorrow, we here at LoveHoney sincerely hope he isn't planning a trip to a desert island any time soon. ... The outgoing Prime Minister has suffered a final humiliating defeat in the polls - and this time he's bottomed out against a dildo.

A resounding 33% of the 800 voters in the LoveHoney Desert Island Fantasy poll voted Tony as the man they'd least like to be stranded on a desert island with. Meanwhile, a vibrator with limitless batteries was voted as one of the top castaway companions.

We can't be sure whether the vibrator's victory over Tony Blair is political, social, or sexual - but the message to Blair on his final day is clear -"Make Love Not War!"

   
Proctor & Gamble object to sex toy description

From Love Honey See further details

Proctor & Gamble have taken umbrage at electric toothbrush sex toys sold at Love Honey.

Or, to be more precise, they've taken umbrage at a picture showing the Brush Bunny Electric Toothbrush Rabbit Vibrator positioned a-top an Oral B electric toothbrush. Shocking.

But that's not all. They also didn't much like it when Love Honey said that the Tingle Tip electric toothbrush vibrator fits directly on to your Oral B electric toothbrush.

Surely a statement of fact that the Tingle Tip does indeed fit directly on to your Oral B toothbrush, or any other electric toothbrush for that matter.

But P&G's lawyers, D Young & Co, weren't having any of it: Our client's trade marks should not be used to promote and sell third party products nor indeed should they be promoted by third parties for any purpose other than that for which they were intended. Improper use of the trade marks BRAUN and Oral B in this manner is misleading to the public and could potentially result in injury.

   
Lap dancing in Manchester's gay village

Based on an article from Manchester Evening News see full article

Plans for a lap dancing bar in Manchester's Gay Village have been opposed by residents - because they fear it will bring down the neighbourhood.

Licensing bosses have been asked to approve the opening of the Red Leopard bar, on Princess Street.

A decision will be made later this month, but residents - along with bar and club owners in the Village Business Association - say they are opposed to the plans.

Spokesman Phil Burke said: We are concerned that this is the wrong place for a venue of this type. We believe it will attract the wrong sort of people to the Village.

The company behind the application said concerns about the venue were misplaced.

Stewart Dixon, one of the directors of Kayote Group Ltd, said the club would be fitted with soundproofing to ensure it did not disturb residents.

He said the reason the company wanted to set the club up in Princess Street was because it is considered an "adult entertainment" area and said he did not believe there would be a problem with it being on the fringes of what is known as the "gay village".

I didn't realise there were distinctions. It would be very wrong for us to say, 'this is a heterosexual area we would not be prepared to accept a gay bar', so I don't think it should work the other way around.

A decision on the licensing application is to take place at Manchester Town Hall on June 26.

   
Near naked dancers simulating sex acts

Based on an article from Rugby Review Today

A Rugby lap dancing bar has had its licence taken away for two months because its dancers were 'too provocative'.

The decision has angered the owner of Pink gentlemen's club, Michael Hill, who claims his venue has been victimised.

The Rugby Borough Council's Licensing Sub-Committee passed the decision  after hearing clear and serious safety breaches at the club, following police visits to the Gas Street venue.

Officers from Rugby Police and Fire Station reported evidence including locked fire doors, unmanaged CCTV systems and near naked dancers simulating sex acts with customers.

A CCTV system at the 100-strong capacity venue was incorrectly managed and doorstaff were not present, it was found.

Sergeant Kate Jackson, of Rugby Police, said: There were many issues brought together which caused grave concerns for public safety in terms of crime and disorder. The management were clearly not taking their safety responsibilities seriously enough. I'm satisfied from a public safety view with this decision.

Mr. Hill said a £3,000 alarm system was now being introduced at the club. Security had been upgraded and clothing was now worn by dancers during performances in the main club area.

Cllr. Hazel Bell, who chaired the committee, said she was 'impressed' with Mr. Hill's willingness to rectify the problems. However, she said the club must now 'get on with the work' needed to improve safety conditions.

   
Apple take on Ann Summers over advert

The bullies from Apple previously got worked up by another similar iPod add-on called iBuzz

From News of the World

Apple Computers are really worked up over an Ann Summers sex toy that hooks up to your iPod.

Women all over Britain are saying yes, yes, yes to the £30 iGasm that plugs into a music player and delivers good vibrations that pulse to the beat.

But iPod bosses are irate demanding stores take down all posters for the gadget or risk a fight in the court.

Apple lawyers claim the poster is a blatant rip-off of their own famous silhouette images used to flog iPods.

Their haughty legal letter to the shop chain adds: We hope this request to remove it immediately will prevent us having to consider further action.

   
Regulatory Enforcement & Sanctions Bill

One can't help but think that this will be used to target various adult businesses

Based on an article from The Telegraph see full article

New powers which allow regulators to impose unlimited fines on traders have been proposed by the Government.

The Cabinet Office will launch a consultation on the idea as part of a package of measures that are supposedly designed to reduce red tape whilst increasing penalties for repeat offenders.

The business community is said to be broadly supportive, although there are concerns over individual proposals like the wider use of on-the-spot fines.

The British Retail Consortium has nicknamed these fines, which can be set at up to £5,000, the "new parking ticket". It fears that, instead of concentrating on rogue traders, local authority inspectors will look for easy targets, like businesses that make an honest mistake.

The draft Bill, called the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, is based on the recommendations of Richard Macrory, a barrister and professor of environmental law at University College London, who was asked to conduct a review by Gordon Brown.

Business groups were particularly concerned that small firms would not have the financial resources to challenge a penalty if they felt it was unfair.

Prof Macrory said the benefits of a wider range of penalties outweighed these concerns: These proposals are not about making it easier to penalise businesses but to create a system of sanctions that is more responsive and proportionate to the nature of the non-compliance. Criminal prosecution should be reserved for serious breaches of regulatory obligations such as cases of deliberate, reckless or repeated non-compliance.

The Government hopes the draft Bill, called the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, will become law by the end of the year.

To regulate the regulators, the Cabinet Office is also proposing a new statutory code of practice based on the idea that inspectors' actions should be proportionate and risk-based.

   
So much hurt to those who just want to get laid

Based on an article from the BBC see full article

The Home Office and police are launching an advertising campaign designed to reduce kerb-crawling and prostitution on the UK's streets.

The adverts, to be played on local radio stations, will warn kerb-crawlers they face arrest and a £1,000 fine.

The six-week campaign is launched this week in London, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Southampton, Bristol, Bournemouth and Leeds.

The government hopes that by reducing demand for prostitutes it will challenge the existence of street sex markets.

Home Office Moralist Vernon Coaker said: Local communities are fed-up with street prostitution - the sexual activity taking place in their parks and playgrounds, condoms and discarded needles littering the streets and innocent women mistakenly targeted and abused by men on the prowl.

This campaign sends a stark warning to them that the price they pay could be more than just financial - it could cost them their livelihood and family.

The campaign warns kerb-crawlers face arrest, a court appearance, warning letters to their home, a £1,000 fine and a driving ban. It also stresses they could bring shame to family, friends and employers.

A spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, which calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution, said the campaign risked driving prostitutes underground.

He said: "We have seen the impact of draconian crackdowns like this in Ipswich, where women have been driven further underground into unfamiliar, less well-lit areas where they are more vulnerable to attack.

   
Scottish killjoy legislators

From The Herald

Hen nights and the rugby club's Christmas party may never be the same again.

According to leading figures in Scotland's licensed trade, regulations which will govern the adult entertainment industry will be painted with such a broad brush that strip-o-grams, and possibly even kiss-o-grams, could be severely affected.

Only premises with separate toilet and changing rooms and CCTV coverage would be fit to host such performances. Despite their popularity the lack of suitable venues could see strip-o-grams become a thing of the past.

Although they have yet to be finally agreed, the Scottish Executive's guidelines on adult entertainment released last year are not expected to change in any significant way.

Targeted primarily at lap and pole dancing clubs, as well as dedicated strip joints, the regulations define adult entertainment as that performed live for an audience, under commercial arrangement, and by a person whose actions are erotic or explicitly sexual.

The proposals to govern the trade include ensuring dancers are 18 and over, that the public cannot participate or touch the performers, private booths are removed, CCTV cameras covering the entire area are to the satisfaction of the chief constable and that separate toilets and changing facilities need to be provided exclusively for the performers.

Sources have told The Herald that in dialogue with the executive officials have claimed that strip-o-grams would, in all likelihood, be swallowed up in the new guidelines.

   
Application for first lap dancing club

Based on an article from Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury could soon have its first lap and pole dancing club, it was revealed today. The club would also offer half-naked and nude table dances and private performances.

The venue, described by applicants Gemini Games Ltd as a “gentleman’s club”, would be in Castle Gates. The Castle Club would occupy the first and second floors of Central Hall, which is currently the Shropshire Business Centre.

Managing director of the Wellington-based firm, Stuart Evans said there were “many positive attributes” to the plans. Evans said he realised such clubs are ill thought of on moral grounds.

Fully-naked performances will only take place in a private VIP area at the end of a performance, the rest of the time female dancers will wear a G-string and male dancers will wear a pouch.

The plans for the site have been submitted to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

Planning services manager Geoff Harrison said: The application has only just started its process. It also needs a licence as well as planning permission. It will probably go to committee at the end of April.

   
Corrupted by religious nonsense about sex in Shrewsbury

Based on an article from Shropshire Star see full article

A Shrewsbury nutter priest claims the opening of an exotic dancing club and more sex shops in Shrewsbury will lead to prostitutes openly walking the town’s streets.

Reverend David Uffindell said “young and weak adults” would be corrupted if borough council chiefs allowed the sale of explicit R-18 DVDs at more shops and semi-naked lap dancing at a proposed new town centre club.

The non-stipendiary priest said sex was a “gift from God” and should not be used to make money.

He said he was appalled at a new application by the owners of S X Warehouse, in Harlescott, to sell R-18 films.

Uffindell also said he was outraged by the application to open an exotic dancing club on Castle Gates: Is there no end to the degradation of our society? Do we really want the possibility of nude shows and sexually arousing pole dancing in our town? Society may grumble all it wants about our prisons being full, but are we encouraging people to deviate from a reasonable and moral way of living?

He added: Where is the end? I feel in Shrewsbury we are going to have prostitutes walking openly in the streets like they do in bigger towns. We are rapidly descending to a country where the minority are cow-towed to by the majority for fear of being seen as racist, or even religious.

   
Lap dancing plans recommended for approval

Based on an article from Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury’s first lap and pole dancing club looks set to go ahead after the plans were recommended for approval.

Gemini Games Ltd’s plan for the “upmarket gentleman’s club” has attracted objections from Shrewsbury Town Centre Residents’ Association, which claims it is “inappropriate and undesirable”. Six members of the public have also objected to the club on “moral grounds”.

But borough council planning officers today recommended that the club is allowed to open. A final decision will be made by councillors next Tuesday.

In a report to the authority’s development control committee, planning officers said: “It is clear in planning law that moral reasons for opposing development are not planning objections.

Officers are recommending the club’s opening hours are limited to 6pm to 2am, Monday to Thursday, and from 6pm to 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. They also want the club’s windows to be blanked out.

If granted planning permission, the club would still require a premise licence for the performance of adult entertainment dancing.

   
Lap dancing plans turned down

Based on an article from Shropshire Star

The owner of a firm bidding to open Shrewsbury’s first lap dancing club today vowed to fight on after councillors rejected the venue.

Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council refused the application on Tuesday, arguing the site was supposedly unsuitable and would increase fear of crime.

Members of the development control committee went against officer recommendations and threw out plans for the dancing venue.

Jem Symmonds, Gemini owner, today said he was intending to challenge the decision: We are planning an appeal. We didn’t see any reason whatsoever for the refusal and we intend to pursue it. We are considering our options, but we were bemused by the decision.

At this week’s meeting, an “unacceptable” increase in the fear of crime, potential problems with customers queueing near other bars and noise were given as the reasons for refusal.

Update: Appeal

17th June

Gemini Games Ltd says an appeal could be lodged by the end of the month to open an exotic club in Castle Gates.

Update: Gemini Games is Appealing

2nd July

Gemini Games Ltd is appealing against the borough council’s decision not to grant it planning permission for its lap dancing club, it has emerged.

The company said it was “optimistic” it would win its fight to open a new club near the station.

An appeal is likely to be heard in August.

Update: Wellington Wins

16th August 2007

The doors to Shropshire’s first lap dancing club are to open next week. Managers say Midnights in Wellington will be aimed at a more upmarket clientele. The club will open next Saturday night and will open from Wednesdays through to Saturdays.

Midnights spokesman Dale Lloyd said the “exotic” dance club, which is based in the former Fusion nightclub building, was the first of its kind for Shropshire.

   
Table dancers to go nude

From the The Argus see full article

Two lapdancing clubs have been given permission for their girls to appear totally naked.

Ken McGrath, who runs Top Totty and the Pussycat Club in Brighton and Hove, has been awarded full-nudity licences by Brighton and Hove City Council for the venues.

Now the club boss has said his dancers will bare all from April 28.

The application for the Pussycat Club in Church Road, Hove, went through the council's licencing committee automatically because there were no public objections to the request. But councillors approved the licence for Top Totty in Grand Parade, Brighton, yesterday despite a hotel next door raising concerns about the plans.

The Brighton Royal Hotel was worried about noise coming from the club with doors slamming and loud music. It also felt men could be more riotous in the street if they had seen a completely nude performance.

The council approved Top Totty's full nudity licence on condition it does not open on Sundays, does not hold karaoke and a juke box is not installed.

He said Grace's, in North Street, Brighton, was doing fully naked shows and the decision of the management there had forced him to pay his dancers to strip completely as well: If stag parties are faced with the choice of going to a topless club or a nude club, they are inevitably going to chose to go to a nude club. We couldn't remain the only topless bars in Brighton.

   
Table dancing plans

From This Is Wiltshire see full article

Table dancing and pole dancing will be on offer in Devizes at a new nightclub in the former Rising Sun pub. The pub's lease has been bought by Andy Waters who is renaming the premises, Connections.

By day it will be a pub but in the evenings it will become a nightclub.

Waters said: Connections will be based on Stringfellows nightclub. It's going to be a good experience for Devizes. There will be a bit of table dancing and there might be the odd pole around. It will not be a full-time thing.

He said: I don't think it will be a bad thing. Swindon has got it along with lots of major towns. It will be done in the best possible taste and I can't see any harm in it. Devizes is a growing town and it's got some smashing pubs. I like the town but thought there was something lacking and thought it could do with another nightclub.

   
Lap dancing in Weymouth

Based upon an article from This Is Dorset

A policy on lap-dancing clubs may be drawn up by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

Members of the council's licensing committee voted unanimously to direct its policy committee to look into the issue.

The move comes after traders in Weymouth town centre attacked a plan to introduce a second lap-dancing establishment to the seaside resort.

Town centre nightclub Dusk has applied to the council to turn the second floor of its premises into a lap-dancing club.If the club's application gets the go-ahead it would be the second club of its kind to open in Weymouth after Goldfingers in New Street, which has been operating for more than five years.

Town centre group chairman George Afedakis is among those opposed to the opening of a new lap-dancing club in Weymouth. He says the establishment would not fit with the town's family-friendly image and could encourage an increase in town centre trouble.

Afedakis continued staring into the ludicrous: And the audacity of proposing this club on the seafront - where the Townscape Heritage project and Pavilion development both aim to give a new upmarket appearance - goes beyond belief. Afedakis believes troublemakers might wait outside the club for the dancers to finish work. He said: The girls that work in the club will need bodyguards to protect them.

   
Lap dancing in Weymouth approved

Based upon an article from This Is Dorset

Lap dancing has been given the go-ahead at Weymouth's Dusk nightclub. It is the second lap dancing licence to be granted in the town.

The licensing committee of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council approved the application at yesterday's meeting.
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Councillors and council officers voted in favour of varying Dusk's premises licence so it could offer the entertainment to its customers.

Chairman of the licensing committee Councillor Hazel Bruce said the application was granted as a result of several extra conditions offered by Dusk following a mediation meeting.

The nightclub has promised that one door supervisor will be present on the second floor during each performance of dance, and lap dancing will only take place between 9pm and 4am daily. There will be no advertising outside the premises or visible from inside, and no leafleting will take place before 9pm. A final condition was that the flat on the top floor of the club would be used as a changing room and rest area for the dancers.

Previously the club had offered conditions such as prohibiting physical contact between the customers and dancers, and banning audience participation, and the committee decided these must still apply.

Dusk representative Eric Windsor of Dorset Licensing said Dusk would remain primarily a nightclub and the concept was just to utilise one small room for stag and hen nights and birthday parties. He said the room would only accommodate six or eight people at a time.

Coun Bruce said anyone aggrieved by the decision had 21 days to appeal to the magistrates court.

   
"We can't have that sort of thing in the town. It's unspeakable"

Based on an article from the Herts Essex News see full article

Erotic dancers could soon be performing at Club Sky in Ware.

The owners of the popular nightspot, in Amwell End, are planning to introduce 'adult entertainment'.

The plans came to light after the club applied to East Herts Council to change its premises licence so that doors can stay open from 10am until 3am on Fridays, Saturdays and bank holidays. It is currently allowed to open from 10am-2am from Monday-Saturday.

Ware Town Council has objected to the application and neighbouring householders expressed concern this week.

Nutter and churchgoer, Julie Pope, said: This is not the place to run a strip, lap dancing and table dancing club. It's going to bring in gangs of men for stag evenings. We can't have that sort of thing in the town. It's unspeakable.

Morally, this is wrong. If they want to do something like this they should do it in London, not in a lovely market town like Ware.

A council spokesman said the club currently has a licence for performance of dance, which already covers it for adult entertainment such as stripping, lap dancing and table dancing. He explained that outside London, licensed premises do not need a licence for adult entertainment.

Update: Unextended

2nd May

The club has now withdrawn application for an extension to opening hours

   
New lap dancing venue

From ic Huddersfield see full article

A new lap dancing club will open in Huddersfield this week. Wildcats has taken over the former USB Bar at Kirkgate.

It becomes Huddersfield's third lap dancing club. The other two are Centrefolds at Folly Hall and La Salsa, at Beast Market.

Wildcats owner Matthew Haycox has spent £250,000 renovating the building to allow the club to cater for 400 customers, who will be entertained by his 30 dancers.

The club will open from 9pm to 2am from Sunday to Thursday and from 9pm to 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Haycox said: We want to change the face of lap dancing and offer the perfect alternative late night club that will appeal to both men and women. It's not just a place for lads and stag dos - we are now seeing more groups of girls and couples who are craving something different from their night out.

He said: We are excited about opening the club in Huddersfield and hope to position it as the most chic and exclusive venue in town.

   
Home Office Shelves Mini Brothels Idea?

From Evening Star see full article

Government policy on the legalisation of prostitution will not change in the near future, the group behind Ipswich's new sex trade strategy said today.

In formulating the town's plan to completely remove prostitution from all parts of the town, the agencies involved wrote to the Home Office to ask if there were plans to consider legalising the trade as has happened in some other European countries.

But the Home Office's reply was that there would be no change and prostitution would remain illegal in the UK.

Simon Aalders, co-ordinator of the Suffolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT), which was central to the creation of the new strategy, said: We did have a conversation with the Home Office about policy change. They were very clear there was no policy change in the offing.

The agencies behind the strategy have opted to use every available power against the men who create a demand for a street sex industry while taking a softer approach toward the women themselves - encouraging them to make use of the services available to them rather than threatening them with jail at the first opportunity.

   
Lap dancers liable for VAT

From the BBC see full article

Spearmint Rhino has won its High Court appeal against a ruling that it has to pay VAT on the earnings of its dancers.

It means that the lap dancers must pay VAT themselves, although they only have to be VAT registered if they earn more than £60,000 per year.

David Milne QC representing Spearmint Rhino argued that the club should not pay because it was the dancer and not the club that provided the services. Self-employed dancers pay to use its facilities and are paid by the clients.

A statement from HM Revenue and Customs said, HMRC will consider the High Court's decision carefully before deciding what further action to take, including whether to appeal.

The original ruling was made on the basis that the dancers were the agents of Spearmint Rhino because of the degree of control the club has over them through their Dance Performance Licences.

The licence requires the dancers to try to maximise sales and entertainment; they have to pay damages to the club if they miss a session that they have booked. They are also subject to a code of conduct governing their contact with the clients.

   
Internet TV shopping channel from LoveHoney

Based on an article from AVN see full article
See also Sex Toys TV

Online retailer LoveHoney has given home shopping a sexy makeover with the launch of the first Internet sex toy TV station. Dubbed the 'QVC for sex toys', Sex Toys TV features exclusive product demonstrations and expert advice on how to buy and use sex toys, giving viewers a comprehensive 'view before you buy' experience.

Sex Toys TV offers unique, entertaining and educational sex toy demonstrations, said Bonny Hall, Sex Toys TV presenter and head buyer for LoveHoney. For the first time, customers can see products in action, so whether you're looking to preview potential purchases or interested in finding new ways to enjoy old favorites, Sex Toys TV is essential viewing.

Sex Toys TV showcases more than fifty sex toys from LoveHoney's catalog, demonstrating popular items like the rabbit vibrator as well as innovative new products such as the iBuzz. Each show can be viewed on-demand and includes a simple, step-by-step guide, along with hints and tips to help customers make the most of their products.

   
Low lifes of Ipswich to crackdown on prostitution

Based on an article from EADT see full article

Police and council chiefs in Ipswich are planning the biggest ever crackdown on prostitution in the wake of December's five vice-girl killings.

A major strategy aimed at ridding the town of its red light district is being devised in what has been described as a “real sea-change in attitude”.

A raft of measures are planned, including the stricter use of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) against prostitutes and a more focused law enforcement against kerb crawlers.

Women will be offered help to tackle the cause of their problems as part of a move that will also see the introduction of improved street lighting and extra CCTV cameras for the red light area.

The plans, put forward by the Ipswich Prostitutes Steering Group, which includes police, council and drug worker representatives, are currently in their final stages.

The English Collective of Prostitutes last night branded the proposals as a cover for a brutal crackdown on vice girls.

Spokeswoman Cari Mitchell said: We are horrified the authorities want to introduce a crackdown that has been shown to force women underground and make them more vulnerable to attack. Have no lessons be learned? We know women in Ipswich are waiting months to get into drug treatment programmes. We think the street lighting and cameras are just a cover for a brutal crackdown.

   
And doesn't maintain contact with the industry

Press release from Sexual Freedom Coalition

Following recent accusations that the Home Office is unfit for practice regarding drugs and immigration, the Sexual Freedom Coalition would like to add sex work to this list.

In our response to the Home Consultation Paper on Prostitution, Paying the Price, dated 27th January 2004 www.sfc.org.uk/prostitution.html we suggested that the various aspects of sex work should be taken away from the Home Office and handled by the Dapartment of Health, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

The Home Office refuse to be guided by sex workers or their clients, and remain ignorant (or pretend ignorance) on the subject of prostitution. How can they, therefore, create laws that offer protection and promote good practice?

The Home Office does not even maintain contact with the people involved in this industry or those who know them and the issues affecting them. It has disengaged with the public and has no basis for being trusted to know how to formulate policy in this sensitive and difficult area

   
Finally gives way to nude dancing

Based on an article from The Argus

Brighton and Hove currently has no fully nude strip joints but looks likely to see six open in the near future.

One venue, Grace of Brighton in North Street, is set to welcome its first clients on March 8 at the former Club 52 bar. The operation was granted a licence to open until 5.30am after no one objected to the application.

The Argus has learned that two exotic-dancing clubs are also in the pipeline for London Road and Pool Valley. The upsurge comes after Brighton and Hove's first fully nude venue, The Rocco Mana in East Street, was given the go-ahead by magistrates, overturning the council's initial rejection.

Sussex Police said that, despite concerns these venues would attract crime, it has decided not to object to new lap-dancing clubs.

Magistrates ruled the link between strip clubs and disorder could not be proved and police believe they will now have to wait until the venues open to gather evidence. Bill Whitehead, head of licensing at Brighton police, said: We have listened to the magistrates' decision and unfortunately it is not worth fighting again. We cannot actually show that they are causing any problems because they are not open at the moment.

The city's current strip clubs - Pussycat, in Church Road, Hove, and sister club Top Totty in Grand Parade, Brighton - had bids to go fully naked turned down in 2005, along with Club 52's first application. But the successful appeal by The Rocco Mana, which is connected to Spearmint Rhino, has changed Brighton's prudish outlook.

Ken McGrath, owner of the Pussycat Club, said he will now have to reapply to stay competitive. He said: It really is an explosion and it is inevitable that clubs will go fully nude now.

Jeane Lepper [wife of extreme porn knee jerk David?], chairwoman of the licensing committee, said she did not want to see strip clubs opening in the city but added that the committee could not deal with application if objections were not received. She said: Brighton is naughty but nice and we are not sleazy.

   
Not the sort of councillors Brighton needs

Based on an article from The Argus

On the news that four nude venues are set to open, Brighton and Hove City Council is now pushing for a change in national policy to allow a ban on all new clubs.

A motion is to be presented to a meeting of the full council asking officers to investigate whether a cap can be introduced.

Councillors will lobby the Government to change its licensing guidelines which allow gentlemen's clubs to hold lap-dancing with the same licence as a church hall featuring line-dancing.

London boroughs are currently the only local authorities in the country allowed to set limits on strip club numbers, and Jeane Lepper, chairwoman of the licensing committee, is pushing for Brighton and Hove to be afforded the same protection.

The motion reads: The council is convinced that an expansion of this type of entertainment would set the wrong tone for the city, that it could undermine the licensing objectives, particularly in respect of the prevention of crime and disorder and protection of children from harm.

Coun Lepper said: We want to have some control of what is opening in the city and at the moment we fell that we are almost powerless to stop this. We are not just concerned about new venues but also established venues going down that route.

The council also wants to take into account the impact on the character of an area and proximity to schools when discussing bids for new clubs. [yeah yeah]

A spokeswoman for Brighton police said: Brighton and Hove police are not taking a moral standpoint on this issue but have always expressed their concern that this type of venue will attract the wrong type of visitor to the city which might have an adverse effect on crime and disorder. And because of this, it is our opinion that the city does not need more sex-encounter establishments.

   
Scottish knees jerk straight to the balls

From The Scotsman

The Scottish Executive is considering radical changes to its proposed new law on prostitution following concerns raised by MSPs.

Deputy finance and public services minister George Lyon today wrote to the Scottish Parliament's local government committee, setting out a possible switch in strategy.

The bill currently going through the parliament proposes to scrap the existing law on soliciting and introduce a new offence - which would apply to both prostitutes and their customers - of causing nuisance, alarm or offence by loitering or soliciting.

But Lyon said the Executive would now consider keeping the existing law on soliciting and amending the bill to focus solely on the men buying sex.

He told the committee: Such an approach could provide a clearer focus on challenging the behaviour of those seeking to purchase sex in public places, which, in turn, may assist in tackling the demand for street prostitution - a key component if we are to deliver our long-term objective of eradicating street prostitution.

The committee was meeting in private this afternoon, where it planned to discuss its forthcoming report to the parliament on the bill.

   
Geez... the guys just want to get laid

Based on an article from The Times

MSPs considering new anti-prostitution laws believe the threat of losing their vehicles and heavy fines will act as a powerful deterrent to men on the streets looking for sex.

The proposals have been drawn up by Holyrood’s local government and transport committee following pressure to curb the sex industry in Scottish cities.

In future, police will have the power to seize the cars of persistent offenders and auction or sell them, a tactic which Scottish councils already use to deal with joyriders. Police would also be allowed to keep vehicles for their own use.

MSPs also want to fine kerb crawlers up to £5,000 because they believe the current maximum penalty of £500 for loitering or soliciting for sex is not a sufficient deterrent.

The Scottish executive has produced draft legislation to provide mean minded repression to deal with nuisance.

Ministers plan to create a specific offence of kerb crawling, which already exists south of the border. They believe that tackling those who solicit for sex is the most effective way of reducing demand. In Glasgow, more than 90% of prostitutes are approached by men in cars.

The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill will make it an offence to cause “alarm, offence or nuisance” through soliciting or loitering to buy or sell sex.

It is being considered by the local government and transport committee, which will recommend a range of amendments next month.

   
Men to be persecuted for wanting to get laid

Based on an article from The Scotsman

Men who buy sex will be prosecuted for the first time under new laws aimed at street prostitution in Scotland.

Ministers have decided to introduce measures to punish the men who buy sexual services with fines of up to £1,000, possible loss of their driving licence and confiscation of vehicles used to kerb crawl.

The move was welcomed by women's nutters groups, but concerns remain over forcing the issue underground and the continuing use of brothels and the internet to sell sex.

The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill originally proposed to tackle the problem of kerb crawling by criminalising both buyers and sellers of sex where they are causing nuisance or offence. However, this approach was criticised as unworkable because it would be difficult for police to prove offence has been caused. Also, the omission of men loitering in a car for the purposes of prostitution was deemed "unacceptable".

Yesterday, in an knee jerking U-turn, Tom McCabe, the finance minister, ripped up the bill and started again. The idea of nuisance or offence was scrapped and a new offence was introduced that will allow police to prosecute men caught buying sex.

The bill's general principles were passed by 108 votes to one with ten abstentions.

However, George Lewis, of the Scottish Prostitution Education Project (ScotPep), voiced concern the new measures will put prostitutes in danger by forcing buyers and sellers to remote areas where they will not be caught: If it is in an outlying area with no CCTV she will put herself at even more risk, he said.

One side of the debate supports a stance such as that of Sweden, where prostitution is seen as gender-based violence against women and buyers must be criminalised. On the other is the Dutch approach, which seeks to reduce harm in an inevitable part of modern society.

Tom McCabe, the minister for finance and public service reform, admitted it was "a complex issue" that could not be solved overnight. But he said legislation could at least equalise centuries of injustice by allowing, for the first time, police to arrest men caught buying sex. To applause from the chamber, he branded buyers of sex as "unacceptable".

An imbalance has existed for too long and that is why this is why this legislation will criminalise kerb crawling for the first time with an offence for those who purchase sex on our streets. It is only by tackling demand that we can hope to minimise harm to prostitutes and reduce the nuisance to communities.

However, Margo MacDonald, the independent MSP for the Lothians, was bitterly disappointed by the bill. She pointed out prosecuting men for kerb crawling will not necessarily stop them buying sex and pointed out the offence has not led to any reduction in prostitution in England and Wales. In fact it will force buyers and sellers to migrate to remote areas where the women are more at risk or to use other means, she warned.

In the past, Ms MacDonald has argued in favour of "management zones" where the police turn a blind eye to prostitution in order to keep an eye on prostitutes and allow services such as drug rehabilitation to be carried out.

   
Committee of Scottish MPs agree to criminalisation of paying for sex

Based on an article from the BBC

Measures to extend new prostitution legislation have been backed by a committee of MSPs. In addition to the criminalising of paying for sex on the street, the proposed new law will be extended to cover kerb-crawlers, who could face fines of up to £1,000.

The Scottish Executive is also in talks with Westminster about proposals for kerb-crawlers to be disqualified from driving and have their car confiscated.

The committee agreed to changes after the bill was criticised by moralists for not punishing people who pay for sex.

The bill, which went before the local government and transport committee, means that for the first time people who buy sex could be prosecuted.

Originally the bill would have criminalised both soliciting and loitering for the purposes of prostitution when it would cause alarm, nuisance or offence.

The changes mean that if it can reasonably be "inferred" that somebody was loitering on foot or in a car in a bid to buy sex they can be prosecuted.

The nutter SNP MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber said: If it is the case that men will now be prosecuted for going to women for sex then that sends out a very clear message indeed that we do not accept prostitution in Scotland.

I believe that it is morally wrong but I also believe that as well as that it has been the source of the perpetration of abuse of women and violence against women since time immemorial.

By sending a very clear message that this conduct will be criminalised that is bound to deter many men who currently go to prostitutes from doing so in the future and if we achieve that we will have achieved something very worthwhile indeed.

Deputy Public Services Minister George Lyon gave executive backing to amendments that removed any reference to alarm, offence and nuisance and to changes which made buying sex an offence in itself. The nutter minister said the changes would lead to tougher laws than those recently agreed in England and Wales.

However, Independent MSP Margo MacDonald said the legislation discriminates against street prostitutes because it will not criminalise those who work indoors: If any of the committee members imagine if by passing this legislation they are going to reprioritise the police operations I think are going to be disappointed in that.

   
Edinburgh council leader speaks against hijacked law

Based on an article from The Scotsman see full article

Edinburgh council leader, Ewan Aitken, hit out at new prostitution laws because they fail to give councils the power to establish tolerance zones.

Legislation expected to be passed by MSPs tomorrow will introduce new offences to target kerb-crawlers, who could face fines of up to £1000 and having their car confiscated.

But the original plan to repeal the existing law against soliciting by prostitutes and replace it with a new offence of causing nuisance has been abandoned. And the Scottish Executive overruled recommendations from an expert group which would have required a complaint to be lodged before a prosecution could take place.

MSPs on the committee considering the Prostitution Bill also spoke out strongly against tolerance zones and said they wanted to see the law implemented right across the country. But on his online blog site, Councillor Aitken has declared his support for tolerance zones, while making clear his wish to help women get out of prostitution. He wrote: I don't condone prostitution, I would not want it legalised and I am unconvinced by those who say 'It's my choice', but I have come to the conclusion that, especially given the levels of trafficking in women, we need to find ways of regulating its practice even if we don't like its existence.

That is why the legislation going through parliament must focus first on the men who solicit and those who pimp and then on giving local authorities the chance to run things like tolerance zones.

Cllr Aitken told the Evening News: It's not saying prostitution is a good thing, but it's understanding there is a group of women who are extremely vulnerable and we need to be able to do what we can to protect them.

I want to do everything we can to get them out of prostitution, but between now and that time having the ability to protect them through tolerance zones would be very helpful.

Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald welcomed Cllr Aitken's backing for what she called a "sensible and humane" approach. But she said: The Bill the parliament will most likely pass tomorrow is an absolute travesty of what the expert group sought to do.

As was shown a few months ago when five women were murdered in Ipswich, the general community, while they may not like the idea or the behaviour associated with prostitution, accepts that street prostitutes are owed a duty of care by all of society.

   
Scottish MPS pass law to criminalise buying street sex

From the BBC see full article

MSPs have approved new legislation which for the first time will allow the prosecution of kerb-crawlers.

The bill will give police the power to arrest men in cars or loitering with the intention of buying sex services.

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing called for driving bans to be added to penalties. However, ministers said this area was reserved, and Westminster may consider them.

The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill will see men who buy sex face prosecution and fines of up to £1,000.

During the final debate on the bill at Holyrood, Deputy Finance Minister George Lyon said it would provide Scotland with the toughest legislation on kerb-crawling in the UK.

Ewing lost his bid to amend the bill so that kerb-crawlers could lose their licences and have their cars seized. He said: If a burglar's tools can be confiscated because they assist him in committing crime, so I would argue for persistent offenders.

Liberal Democrat backbencher Mike Rumbles said a potential £1,000 fine would act as a sufficient deterrent on its own.

Independent MSP Margo MacDonald, who had efforts to legislate for formal prostitution tolerance zones rejected in 2003, said Ewing's amendment would risk driving prostitution underground and therefore putting vulnerable women at further risk. MacDonald also called for the bill to be "quietly voted down", arguing that it had changed radically since it was first introduced to Holyrood.

But MSPs voted in favour of the bill by 103 votes to four with eight abstentions.

   
Get wound up by by appeal against ban on lap dancing

Based on an article from Chichester Today

A warning over 'degrading' entertainment has been given by Chichester church leaders, in a letter condemning proposals for exotic dancing in the city.

Thirteen nutters signed the letter to the Observer, in which they said they were sorry to see there would be an appeal against the licensing authority's decision to refuse an application for the dancing, at The Cave, in St Pancras: If the appeal is successful there will be lap-dancing, pole-dancing and strip-tease at the premises.

We believe this kind of entertainment degrades and devalues humanity. People, especially women, are treated as objects to provide sexual gratification.

There was an inconspicuous advertisement in the Chichester Observer, which was phrased in a way that made it far from clear what precisely would take place at The Cave were the licence to be granted. By the time we had discovered what was going on, the deadline for submissions had passed.

The letter was signed by Ken Benjamin (Chichester Baptist Church); Siew Ping Crane (Harvest Church); Mike Eley (Riverside Christian Fellowship); George Gibson (Christ Church); Richard Griffiths (St Pancras); Richard Hunt (St Paul's); Trevor James (Swanfield Chapel); Bruno Kondabeka (Orchard Street Church);

   
Metal lap dancing in Manchester

Based on an article from Metal Hammer
See also www.cagedasylum.com

The Caged Asylum has really excelled itself with two events that have proved to be a major turning point in the world of UK Metal, so much so, it’s about to go weekly!

The Caged Asylum Team certainly know how to throw a party! Imagine a stylish slick venue, wall-to-wall Naked Rock Chicks dancing and performing in especially constructed cages and poles, the lighting so disorientating you can forget where you are and the sounds so powerful they throw you across the club ! Welcome to the Caged Asylum

The staggering 40k sound system is awesome for any kind of music event, let alone a Metal night where squeaky ear-splitting mid-range tones are usually the order of the day. The DJ's will be dropping the tracks just right every week and they promise not to let up with their onslaught of high adrenaline sounds to send everyone into a frenzy. The toilets are Spotless at Ohm Nightclub and we even have an attendant.

Every Saturday from launch 3rd February 2007, 10pm– 4am at Ohm Nightclub 28-34 High Street Manchester, UK. Admission: £5-7

   
Lap dancing is coming to Burnham-On-Sea

Based on an article from Burnham on Sea.com

Plans to introduce adult dancing at a Burnham-On-Sea night club were given the go-ahead on January 22nd.

A public hearing was held at Bridgwater Magistrates Court to decide whether Shakers could overturn the May 2006 decision by Sedgemoor's Licensing Panel to reject a bid to introduce occasional lap dancing and extended opening hours.

After a day-long hearing in which opinions on both sides of the argument were heard, a judge decided that Shakers' request to open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays should be turned down. Also, clubbers will not be able to leave the building to have a smoke and then gain re-entry to the club.

However, the club's controversial application for "gentlemen's evenings" was given the green light.

   
Lap dancing to open in Consett

Based on an article from Northern Echo see full article

Plans announced last year to open the Red Velvet club above a chip shop in Front Street, Consett, County Durham, provoked the usual nutter outrage, with more than 1,000 people signing a protest petition organised by the town's churches.

But after a four-hour hearing, members of Derwentside District Council's alcohol and entertainment licensing sub-committee granted the club a license.

Sukhdev "Sonny" Gill told the hearing that the club would vigorously enforce age restrictions and would have no insensitive advertising outside the premises.

But during yesterday's highly-charged meeting at the council chambers in Consett, objectors argued that the club, which will be open until 2am and will feature topless dancers, was demeaning to women, could lead to members of the public being harassed in the street and could increase the incidence of sexual assault in the town.

The nutter Reverend Stephen Dallin, superintendent Methodist Minister for Derwentside, said that he feared the opening of the club could lead to further incidents similar to the brutal rape of a young woman in Blackhill Park, in November 2005. He said that he feared the club would impact on children attending young people's groups at the nearby Methodist Church, in Station Road.

However, the committee of three councillors granted the application after hearing that none of the statutory bodies, including the police, has raised any objections to the club. They also said that only objections from people living within 200 yards of the club could be considered, which ruled out the majority of those who had signed the petition.

Councillor Alex Watson, the leader of Derwentside District Council who spoke against the plan as ward councillor, said the authority would review its procedures in the wake of the decision: I am hugely disappointed given the depth of hostility to the proposal.

Protestors said they were now considering their next course of action. No decision has been made as to when the club will open its doors to the public.

Update: Opening Date

The opening date has now been set for July 27th 2007 when it duly opened

   
Lap dancing planned for Chichester

From Chichester Today

A popular band venue and function room in Chichester city centre could become the first ever 'exotic' dancing club in West Sussex.

The Cave, in St Pancras, has applied to Chichester District Council's licensing department to change a number of conditionss which include adding pole dancing to its range of entertainment.

Since the application was submitted, the venue has tried to win over residents by sending out letters to households in the immediate area outlining a series of strict conditions it has promised to uphold.

The letter states that lap dancing would be open only to people aged over 21 and on a members-only basis.

After applying for membership guests would have to wait a minimum of 48 hours before they could attend for the first time.

   
Lap dancing banned due to 'density of housing!'

Based on an article from Chichester Today

Plans to bring 'dirty dancing' to the cathedral city of Chichester have been blocked by district councillors.

They claimed particular note was taken of the high density of homes in the area around. [yeah yeah...]

Nutters including local residents and church representatives opposed an application to allow adult entertainment at The Cave Wine Bar and Brasserie, in St Pancras.

This would have featured what was described as exotic dancing - striptease, lap dancing, pole dancing and tableside dancing.

   
Government must have courage to act on prostitution

From Liberal Democrats

Commenting on an article in the BMJ that the UK government is failing sex workers by continuing to promote discriminatory laws and practices, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Nick Clegg MP said:

The BMJ is right to highlight the Government’s failure to grapple with this issue when the welfare and lives of vulnerable women are at stake.

The law should help take vulnerable women off the streets and into licensed premises, while applying current laws on obstruction, nuisance and harassment more strictly.

We can no longer afford to avoid having a grown up debate about this difficult issue. The Government has sat on its own review of the law relating to prostitution for a year, and it is high time they had the courage to act.

   
Zero Tolerance considered in Bolton

From This Is Lancashire

Delegates from Bolton Council's newly-formed prostitution policy development group plan to visit the Middlesbrough in the next couple of months to see if a zero tolerance scheme would work in Bolton.

Middlesbrough was responsible for a quarter of all kerb-crawling convictions in the country between 2002 and 2004, but now only 15 prostitutes work on its streets compared to 200 previously

Now Government ministers want to see its zero tolerance approach, which sees kerb crawlers named and shamed and prostitutes educated on the health risks of the sex trade - repeated across England and Wales.

The Bolton group was set up at the end of last year in response to an anti-prostitution petition signed by more than 2,000 people.