UK P4P News

A parish priest in London's Soho has claimed that the behaviour of police during raids on local brothels was unacceptable and at times unlawful .

The Rev Simon Buckley, of St Anne's rectory in Soho, has sent a report to the bishop of London and senior Metropolitan police officers airing his disquiet at an operation to clear out Soho's brothels.

Buckley highlighted concerns from sex workers that, despite police assurances that their welfare was paramount, the mass closure would push sex workers on to the streets, where they are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and rape .

During Operation Companion, 18 brothels were closed in raids involving 250 officers, many in riot gear, accompanied by dog units. The raids followed an undercover operation said to have linked the brothels to abuse and human trafficking. Commander Alison Newcomb, who is in charge of policing in Westminster, has justified targeting the flats, saying it was important to close brothels where we have evidence of very serious crimes happening, including rape and human trafficking .

However, no trafficking victims were found in the operation, and a letter from Newcomb, dated 27 January and seen by the Observer , reveals that no specific number of women were suspected of being trafficked . In his report Buckley writes: There is a clear reversal of the rationale that we [community leaders] were given on the night of the operation. He also claims he has received testimony from sex workers that at least one woman was forced into the street in only her underwear during the raids; that photographs of women appeared in the media because press photographers were invited on the operation; and that some women were threatened by police that their children or parents would be told they were working as prostitutes.

A business man who organised weekly sex parties with porn stars has been ordered to repay £15,000 of the profits or face nine months in jail.

Patrick Stewart organised orgies with porn stars. He set up a bondage area, a porn room with a wide screen television and double beds for couples to watch each other have sex and swap partners across two flats in Tower Hamlets, east London.

The orgies were advertised online as gentlemen's parties , and the women, who were from South America, Eastern Europe and Britain, were paid around £150 for four hours work. But the parties were spoilt by miserable police who raided the events. A policeman described the event as an orgy and I think that is a fair reflection of what was taking place at the premises. Around 19 customers and numerous scantily-clad women were present when Staddon was arrested at the scene.

In August last year, Stewart was handed a 14-month sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work and fines £750. Stewart set up the brothels in Fairfield Road, Bow and Fun Times in White Post Lane, Hackney Wick in 2007. He recruited Russell Staddon and Shahid Latif to run the parties on a weekly basis.

Stewart; Staddon and Latif, all admitted conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and money laundering. Last August Staddon was sentenced to 10 months, suspended for two years, and was also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work and fined £250. Latif received a four-month sentence, also suspended for two years, fined £275 and ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid work.

Two sex workers lost their legal battle against Scotland Yard after pointing out that the mass closure of brothels in the heart of London's red-light district put them at greater risk of attack.

Eighteen brothels were closed down after raids following an undercover operation that was claimed to have revealed links to crimes including trafficking and rape. But at least six sex workers have fought the closures, claiming they had not been coerced into working and that closing the brothels would make their work more unsafe.

In the first of three appeals being heard over two weeks, two women lost their battle to have their flats reopened after a judge found that unknown figures were controlling prostitution in the area. The judge, Judy Khan QC, cited the bizarre payments of daily rent left in a microwave, and a shift system in operation.

However, activists claim that Soho is one of the safest places for prostitutes to work as the flats are covered by CCTV and they work with maids who try to monitor customers. They warned that the raids made it more likely that women would find work on their own, either in flats or on the streets, where their lives were more at risk.

In a report sent to the Bishop of London over the weekend, the Reverend Simon Buckley wrote that trust in the police had been severely undermined by the seemingly ham-fisted nature of the operation:

The girls who continue to work in the unclosed flats say that they would not feel confident in turning to the police if they were a victim of crime. Those who previously worked in the relative safety of the flats, and until 18 months ago had a good rapport with the police, are now forced to explore other means of supporting themselves. I am told this is most likely by working on streets outside Soho where they are far more vulnerable to abuse, attack and rape.

Update: Better news

22nd February 2013. See article from independent.co.uk

Two sex workers have claimed victory against Scotland Yard after they overturned a decision to shut down their flats after early morning police raids in Soho.

The flats had been shut for a minimum of three months after police claimed that the women working there were being controlled, or incited to commit prostitution. It was one of 18 addresses targeted by the police. However, the women said they were working of their own free will and it was safer to work where there was CCTV cameras in the building and where maids helped to vet customers. The women warned they would be at greater risk from harm if they had to work elsewhere or pick up trade on the streets.

In the latest of several such appeals, a judge said the two women used the flats by arrangement with other sex workers at mutually convenient and agreed times. That does not constitute control.

Niki Adams, of the English Collective of Prostitutes, said:

These closures should never have come to court. The police misled the public and claimed that they were needed to prevent rape and trafficking. No victims of trafficking were found; instead the police threw women out of the relative safety of their flats.

Offsite Comment: A supportive piece from the Daily Express

22nd February 2013. See article from express.co.uk by Jennifer Selway, assistant editor of the Daily Express

I HATE what these Soho girls do for a living but I admire their gumption and their refusal to cry victim simply because there is pressure to do so. Nothing succeeds like victimhood these days, especially -- I'm afraid -- if you're a woman. In Soho police took one of the hookers to a place of safety even though she protested that she didn't want to go.

...Read the full article

The Northern Ireland police force has withdrawn its opposition to proposals to criminalise men who pay for sex -- but stopped short of backing the plans, as they could deter people in the sex industry from giving information to the police.

The new law being proposed for Northern Ireland is based on repressive Swedish legislation.

Senior officers have also pointed out that most convictions in Sweden are achieved through phone tapping and surveillance of suspects -- which would not be allowed in Northern Ireland.

Giving evidence at a justice committee meeting yesterday, Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris said:

We don't oppose it... if the Assembly passes this legislation, we will use it to the best effect we can.

However, he pointed out that men who paid for sex were already risking ridicule and knew they were taking a risk so it is difficult to assess how much effect the threat of prosecution would have .

ACC Harris and Chief Superintendent Roy McComb, who also gave evidence, pointed out that it was already an offence to have sex with a person who had been trafficked and that ignorance was no defence.

Six men have so far been arrested for this offence, but none of them have been convicted because of a legal time limit on how long police have to bring charges. That limitation is now being removed and police are hopeful it will help secure future convictions.

Sex workers on the Spanish tourist island Ibiza have formed a cooperative to pay taxes and gain social security benefits - the first such group legally registered in Spain, they say.

Eleven women registered with local authorities as working members of the Sealeer Cooperative providing sexual services, said their spokeswoman, Maria Jose Lopez. She told AFP:

We are pioneers. We are the first cooperative in Spain that can give legal cover to the girls.

Like any workers' cooperative, Sealeer members declare their income and pay taxes, which entitles them to public healthcare, a pension and other benefits.

Bulldozers are set to roll into a historic Soho street after a massive redevelopment was given the green light, despite a string of objections claiming it would sanitise the area.

Soho Estates was given permission to demolish parts of Walkers Court, Peter Street and Brewer Street to create new nightclubs, offices and a restaurant. The narrow backstreet Walkers Court is famous for the scores of brightly lit sex shops and the legendary Raymond Revuebar.

The scheme was given permission by Westminster Council saying that the benefits of removing sex-related uses outweighed their concerns, which included the loss of unlisted buildings of merit , the increase in height of the buildings and the poor-quality studio flats that would be built at another part of the development in Wardour Street.

More than 50 letters of objection were received from residents and business owners, which argued:

The changes would be harmful to the character of the area. The seedier side of the area is one of its vital features, the proposals would sanitise Soho and accelerate the transition to a bland and characterless area.

Members of the English Collective of Prostitutes attended the hearing wearing metallic red wigs and sunglasses and heckled the committee when they failed to mention the scores of sex workers who would be kicked out of the walk-up flats where women had legally been working for decades. They shouted shame on you as the proposals were rubber-stamped. They said:

Excuse me, you haven't raised the harm caused to sex workers when they are thrown out of their flats that they've been in for 25 years or longer. You didn't even mention it.

Offsite: Sex worker reports about what went on during the raid

16th January 2013. See article from prostitutescollective.net

Now I will NEVER call the police again no matter what happens. They aren't interested in our safety.

...Read the full article

Offsite: Yeah Yeah

28th January 2013. Based on article from minivannews.com

A top detective has denied any connection between police raids on brothels and plans to redevelop Soho.

...Read the full article