The West End Extra newspaper has had a number of articles about the raids. There was a debate in St Anne's Church recently where sex workers, residents and business owners could speak their minds. The raids were initially said to be to do with stolen goods but little evidence was found of that. Instead police were trying to find evidence of sex workers being controlled by a third party.
"Following the raids, police sought to close down 20 brothels, but they have been criticised for failing to provide evidence that the premises were linked to the handling of stolen goods.
Instead a district judge issued “brothel closure orders” after police claimed to have found evidence that women in the flats were controlled by an unknown third party, which contravenes prostitution laws."The issues that the police have used to try to justify these raids are property stolen from tourists, shoplifted items and drugs. They found little evidence of any of these problems during the raids. There also seems to be an issue with the people who the sex workers pay their rent to. Although Soho Estates own the freehold of many of the flats there is a 'black economy of anonymous landlords'.
Rupert Everett has written an article for the Guardian newspaper where he reports what sex workers have said in court and he confirms that police were trying to find evidence of the mysterious 'third party'.
Another nice article for you
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/thosecleaning-up-soho-say-they-object-to-its-sleaze-but-isnt-that-the-whole-point-of-the-area-i-call-home-9083454.html
There's an article in today's Independent.
ReplyDeleteTwo sex workers lost their legal battle against Scotland Yard on Monday after claiming that the mass closure of brothels in the heart of London’s red-light district put them at greater risk of attack.
In the first of three appeals being heard over two weeks, two women Monday lost their battle to have their flats reopened after a judge found that unknown figures were “controlling” prostitution in the area.
To get a brothel closed down for up to six months, police have to show, on the balance of probabilities, that someone is controlling the price that a prostitute charges, requiring them to work in a certain place, or dictating the number of customers they have to see.
So, as far as I can see, you're guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. There is no one 'controlling' it apart from the women themselves. If some of them started charging more the punters would just go elsewhere. They tried that at 26 Romilly St. So they all end up at the same price (except for the one in Little Newport Street).
There's also this article from West End Extra. Sex workers go to court to fight ‘draconian’ closure of 'walk-up flat' in Soho and Court clash on evidence of ‘stolen goods’ (POLICE have failed to provide any evidence that scores of brothels that have been shut down are linked to violent street crime in Soho, a court heard this week).
ReplyDeleteSeems like some good news. According to this article in The Independent London sex workers win legal challenge against police decision to shut down their flats.
ReplyDeleteNiki 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.”