Blair to legalise brothels

The law is to be changed to allow up to three prostitutes to work legally in brothels, the has Government confirmed.

Currently only one prostitute can offer paid sex without breaking the law.

Launching the Home Office's new prostitution strategy, minister Fiona Mactaggart said the current position meant that women were forced to work in unsafe conditions.

The Government is also creating a new penalty specifically for prostitutes so the courts can divert them towards help for drug or alcohol abuse.

The new penalty will be available for people convicting of loitering or soliciting for prostitution, which is presently dealt with by a fine in most cases, which the Government said did not deal with the underlying reasons why women went on the game.

The strategy document, which applies to England and Wales, said: "At present only one person may work as a prostitute - more than that ... and the premises are classed in case law as a brothel.

"This runs counter to advice that women should not work alone in the interest of safety. The Government will make proposals for an amendment to the definition of a brothel so that two or three individuals may work together."

Ministers have already ruled out a previous proposal to create licensed "red light" zones to deal with street prostitution.